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[UPDATE] Video: NYC Wal-Mart Already Open For Business... In Wal-Mart's Commercials
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 9, 2011
Modified Nov 9, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 9, 2011
Modified Nov 9, 2011
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[Update below] Wal-Mart is still working (albeit quietly and behind-the-scenes) to gain a foothold in NYC, and it seems the big box behemoth is now using the "fake it 'til you make it" strategy, by portraying our city as already home to Wal-Mart, at least on the Tee-Vee. In a synergistic new commercial for the video game Call of Duty World of Warfare 3 and Wal-Mart, one proud American consumer flies to NYC so he can buy the latest version of the game before his friend in the Central Time Zone:
As you can see in the ad, the proud gamer is set up in hotel room with the NYC skyline in the background. This is probably confusing for non-New Yorkers who see the commercial and don't realize that there is still bitter opposition to Wal-Mart in this town. But that matters little to Internet commenter "elkpointscanner," who opines, "wallmart is awesome... I would much rather buy a game from wallmart than from futureshop, but would rather get other things like a new tv or a computer from futureshop. But wallmart is starting to get in really good tv's and computers now :D"
Sigh, America is doomed. But an entrenched resistance to the company remains active in NYC, where protesters from Occupy Wall Street joined members of the group Walmart Free NYC to deliver “big boxes” to Related Companies CEO Stephen Ross yesterday. Ross is in talks with Wal-Mart about opening its first NYC location in East New York, and to send him a message, dozens of protesters delivered “big-boxes” to Ross marked “Return to Sender” and “Walmart, care of Related Companies."
“Stephen Ross needs to know that our communities do not want Walmart,” says Tiffany Jones, a resident of East New York. “Walmart runs existing small businesses out of our communities and does not share our values or raise community standards. We are here today to let Related know that they need to keep Walmart out."
[Via City and State First Read]
[UPDATE] A Wal-Mart spokesperson has contacted us with a statement, and the big-box retailer invokes Occupy Wall Street! Steven Restivo, Senior Director of Community Affairs says
New Yorkers know Walmart is focused on serving "the 99 percent." We're helping to lower the cost of living for millions of Americans by providing more convenient access to healthy food and making basic financial services more affordable for underserved customers. At the same time, we’re creating and supporting some of the best jobs in all of retail. For those reasons and more, an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers want Walmart in New York City.
Look for the Walton family to set up a tent in Zuccotti Park right next to the medical center any day now.
Tagged
united states of generica
wal-Mart
world of warfare
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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