Waitrose’s wonky billboard draws Council’s attention

By Brooke Bolcho on Monday, April 29, 2024

Waitrose and Saatchi&Saatchi caught the attention of Londoners and Wandsworth Council with a wonky billboard, signifying the grocers’ commitment to lowering prices on hundreds of food items.

The billboard depicts an arrow pointing downwards, surrounded by food products, with the tilted angle making it appear as if the lower-priced items are sliding down.

What was meant to be a cheeky nod to Waitrose’s plummeting prices quickly raised concerns amongst passers-by, prompting Wandsworth Council to take precautionary measures and fence off the billboard over public safety concerns.

In response to the council’s action, Waitrose jokingly tweeted to them saying –

Hi @wandbc – thanks for the swift action but while our prices are falling rapidly, our billboard certainly isn’t! #noneedforbollards pic.twitter.com/mXXbFZL3RA

— Waitrose & Partners (@waitrose) April 25, 2024

The retailer even tweeted at Specsavers, asking if they were behind the wonky billboard…

This stunt comes on the heels of Waitrose’s recent announcement to slash prices on over 200 “weekly shop” products for the fifth time since February 2023. Waitrose’s commercial director, Charlotte Di Cello, said: “We are focusing on even more weekly-shop staples as well as a large range of organic ingredients which our customers love.