Photographer Todd Selby captures the chaos of family life in spot for BJ's

Campaign from Terri & Sandy documents the food-related realities of parenting during the pandemic

Published On
May 11, 2020

Editor's Pick

The ear-piercing beginning of BJ’s Wholesale Club’s new ad—“I’m hungry!” whined by a toddler—is all-too familiar to parents right now, as many deal with the constant stress of family meal prep alongside the anxieties of homeschooling and working remotely. The commercial, created with New York agency Terri & Sandy, shows a real-life family cooking through the crisis—including kids who try to serve themselves, potentially expired milk and all the dishes that go with it—as it highlights the ease of the grocery chain’s family-size delivery packs.

The ad is a light-hearted, humorous look at the some of the food-related realities of parenting during the pandemic.“Our family-size packs are an affordable solution to keep families and refrigerators full, and our pick-up club and grocery delivery make it more convenient to shop at BJ’s,” said Donna Noa, VP of brand marketing at BJ’s, in a statement.

The 30-second ad was directed by photographer and artist Todd Selby. He's best known for documenting the lives of others, but in this case, he stars in the ad along with his own family. The agency had provided Selby with a script and shot list. During the shoot, he ran with those but also improvised along the way, as in the scene in which his wife smells the milk and the opener when his kid yells for food.

It's part of a broader campaign that Terri & Sandy devised in just two weeks. It also includes 30-and 15-second videos for digital and social channels.