Walmart Gives Vets a 'Greenlight'

Walmart continued to shine a light on vets in the weeks leading up to the observance of Veterans Day on Nov. 11.Now in its second year, the retailer's "Greenlight a Vet" campaign encourages Americans to change one home or office light to green to establish visible national support and appreciation for American veterans. The color is presented as a symbol of hope, renewal and wellbeing, and is a familiar signal to move forward.Walmart, of course, stocked plenty of green lights for sale, especially after supplies reportedly ran low last year. Account-specific pallet displays outfitted with balloons and sidekicks merchandised green light bulbs from Ledvance GmbH's Sylvania. The brand promoted the initiative by re-tweeting posts from the effort's Twitter account. A feature in the retailer's Nov. 4 circular supported.A dedicated website for the initiative offers the campaign video created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York that ran as an ad during the World Series last year. (See video below.) It also hosts a series of mini-videos starring former soldiers recalling their transition back to civilian life, lets participants add their green light to a map of the U.S., and aggregates social media mentions.Walmart first launched the Greenlight campaign last year with support from organizations including the Institute for Veterans and Military Families; Team Red, White and Blue; Team Rubicon; Hire Heroes USA and Blue Star Families. The effort quickly gained steam on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, though it was questioned by some as free advertising that is not benefitting veterans in practical ways.This isn't the first time Walmart has pushed the sale of light bulbs for a cause initiative. One decade ago the retailer launched a "Change a Light. Change the World" campaign to sell 100 million energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs in one year as part of various sustainability initiatives.For the Greenlight campaign, however, the mass merchant additionally asks consumers to take direct action by doing such things as hiring veterans or helping them find work, mentoring returning veterans, volunteering with veterans' groups or showing support on social media. Walmart also is in the middle of the Veterans Welcome Home Commitment it launched on Memorial Day 2013, committing to hiring 250,000 veterans by 2020.

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