Whenever I tell the story of my relocation to Iowa, and the process of selecting Fairfield Iowa from the other small towns; it always involves talking about Everybody’s Groceries and their organic/natural foods selection my family could not live without. However after living here for several months we realized we weren’t going to get over the sticker shock of shopping at Everybody’s and began looking for better deals elsewhere in town.

My wife discovered that the Hy-Vee grocery carried some organic, locally produced staples like milk, butter, cereal and cheese at grossly reduced prices (for example the butter is usually about $2 cheaper at Hy-Vee than it is at Everybody’s). As part of our grocery shopping routine we get what we can at Hy-Vee and the rest at Everybody’s. Hy-Vee, despite being a grocery chain with aisle after aisle of foods I would never consider eating, it has an excellent staff, and a MEAT DEPARTMENT that carries natural meats.

Sadly, my enjoyment of shopping at Hy-Vee has come to an end (not permanently I hope). Last week while pushing my cart down the back aisle of Hy-Vee I encountered their new advertising campaign in the form of large, ceiling mounted LCD screens playing TV style ads. My irritation grew as I found myself browsing the chicken and meats, trying to think of a meal plan and decide on what to get, but the loud commercial about Tide was all I could focus on.

Next I went over to the Organic dairy section - the best thing going at Hy-Vee for my family - and there above the cooler was another TV, loudly playing Tide, Jell-O and other ads, and interrupting what would otherwise be a pleasant time at Hy-Vee with my daughter in the cart.

I found myself trying to imagine the people discussing the idea to put these TVs throughout the store. I imagined a conference room far away from Fairfield Iowa, where people in suits sat down and decided to put into action a new plan without any consideration of:

1. The impact on the employees of Hy-Vee who work under those TVs all day, all week, all month, all year. I suggest that TVs be installed at the corporate offices and conference rooms, where they play advertising non-stop just like they do above the men and women working at the meat counter.
2. The impact on customers who are most likely already under enough stress to get a chore like shopping completed. I suggest the people at Hy-Vee corporate drive down to their local Hy-Vee twice a week and actually shop under those TVs.
3. The usefulness of advertising Jell-O pudding to a customer shopping at the ORGANIC dairy cooler or the ORGANIC/NATURAL chicken section. Targeted advertising is all around us. In the case of Hy-Vee, implementing relevant advertising isn’t even a technical challenge. Just play different advertising based on where the TV is located.

The new advertising at Hy-Vee fails on many levels. It undermines the reasons I shop at Hy-Vee - great staff and a growing selection of affordable, local, natural foods - and is forcing me to assess whether the $5 I save on a trip to Hy-Vee is worth the invasive and obnoxious advertising.

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