According to a study conducted by Aldi, over 35% of British children don’t like spending their time around the family dinner table. Most of these kids’ parents suppose they know who the guilty party of this phenomenon is: online gaming. But as a champion of bringing families to sit together at the table, Aldi launched an online service that promises to help parents gather all family members for the important family dinner time. How, might you wonder?
Well, it’s because of Teatime Takedown time, which means that the younglings will be actually taken down in the virtual world so that they can attend the obligatory meal. Created with the help of creative agency McCann UK, the new online service enlists an elite squad of professional gamers who can be summoned by parents to enter into their child’s game and take them down. Therefore, the little gamers will have to put their controllers down and have nothing else to do other than join the dinner table.
To reach parents directly, Aldi is going to a clever marketing strategy. First, it will feature a promotional video, which is going to roll out across various channels from digital to social and media from radio to out-of-home and even in-store on the back of till receipts.
Another plan is to speak straight to the parents on UK’s biggest parenting website, Netmums, and some popular recipe websites. Actually, this idea can be put into practice with ease, Aldi only needs the parents’ feedback. Another idea is for moms and dads to sign up via Facebook by inputting their children’s gamer IDs and the desired meal date. If the young ones are online at the right time, world-class gamers will do their tricks and help free children from the computers and send them directly to the dinner table.
Teatime Takedown reaches its climax on Mother’s Day (March 31), the exact time when Aldi plans to extend the service from midday through to dinnertime in order to reclaim this sacred family day.
“At Aldi, we understand the importance of family mealtimes, but know how tough it can be to get everyone together. From suggesting family-friendly recipes to offering Teatime Takedowns, we’re committed to helping parents on their journey to reclaiming that all-important family time,” said David Hills, Group Director of Marketing and Communications at Aldi UK, in a press release.
Rob Doubal, Chief Creative Officer at McCann UK, also added: “85% of parents admit that getting their kids to sit down to eat is a struggle. Only Aldi would take a humorous head-on-approach to sort out the problem. Hiring some elite gamers to infiltrate the games and take the kids down. Wonderful project. Thank you and well done all.” And is this approach correct?
Whilst Doubal thinks this is a “wonderful project,” we will take the chance to point out the other side of the story. Is it OK to hire professional gamers to eliminate children who enjoy themselves in the virtual world? Where does one drop the line between simply gaming and cyber-bullying? What is this going to do to the confidence of these little gamers? Let us know your opinion by sharing your ideas on the comment section below!