WINNERS is partnering with Canadian cookie company Craig’s Cookies on a campaign that will bring a digital-era concept into physical stores, with a custom cookie offered at select WINNERS locations beginning Sept. 12.
The campaign, called AcceptCookies.IRL, will launch in stores in Calgary, Windsor, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. Customers will be encouraged to accept a physical cookie before shopping, a play on the cookie-consent prompts commonly encountered while browsing websites.
The campaign is intended to connect the online habit of accepting cookies with the in-store shopping experience, while bringing together WINNERS and Craig’s Cookies for a limited-edition product.
“We accept cookies online without thinking. With AcceptCookies.IRL, we wanted to make that moment worth saying yes to,” said Jordan White, spokesperson for WINNERS. “It’s playful, unexpected and true to the WINNERS experience – you never know where you’ll find your next win until you step inside.”
Craig’s Cookies has created a custom WINNERS Cookie specifically for the campaign. The cookie starts with the bakery’s Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie and contains a colourful surprise inside.
The companies said the cookie will be available at the participating WINNERS activations beginning Sept. 12. The custom WINNERS x Craig’s Cookies cookie will then be sold nationwide at Craig’s Cookies locations from Sept. 14 to Sept. 30.
The campaign will also include giveaways and opportunities to win prizes.
“When WINNERS came to us with AcceptCookies.IRL, we loved how fun and instantly gettable the idea was,” said Craig Pike, founder of Craig’s Cookies. “We’re always playing with familiar flavours in unexpected ways, so this gave us the chance to put a Craig’s Cookies spin on an everyday digital moment and create something just for WINNERS. The WINNERS Cookie starts with our Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie, but the surprise is what you find when you break it open. It felt like the perfect way to bring that sense of unexpected discovery to life, and I can’t wait for people to try it.”
The partnership comes as WINNERS seeks to translate a familiar online interaction into a physical retail setting, while Craig’s Cookies extends the campaign through its locations across Canada.
WINNERS is part of TJX Companies Inc., which operates more than 5,200 stores across 10 countries. Its Canadian operations include Winners, HomeSense and Marshalls.
Craig’s Cookies was founded in Toronto by Newfoundland-born Craig Pike. The company says it began in 2013, when Pike baked his mother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe from his Toronto apartment, and has since expanded to 25 locations across Canada.
The bakery offers more than 85 rotating flavours and says its cookies are made from scratch with real ingredients and baked fresh daily.
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