The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2024
Co-op prints its 60-second ownership film on 899 real till receipts
Each of the film's 899 stop-motion frames was printed through a real till-receipt printer, making the receipt itself the proof of member ownership.
Co-op
What it had to solve
Co-op was born in 1844 and remains owned by its members, but in 2024 it needed to make that structure felt: the new 'Owned By You. Right By You.' brand platform had to explain why a co-operative is different and what membership returns. The centrepiece was a 60-second campaign film.
How it works
Co-op, a retail business born in 1844 and owned by its members rather than shareholders, launched the brand platform 'Owned By You. Right By You.' in 2024 to tell Britain why a co-operative is different: owned by the people, for the people, returning value through what members actually buy. The centrepiece was a 60-second campaign film.
The film's medium was the message. It was created in stop motion with printed till receipts — every one of its 899 frames was actually printed and cut through a real-life receipt printer and shot on film, so the honest everyday details of real receipts, from text and symbols to barcodes and numbers, play a huge role in what the audience sees.
A receipt is the paper record of a shop transaction, so for a member-owned business it doubles as the record of ownership; the craft made the company's structure visible in the most mundane object a shopper carries. The D&AD awards archive preserves the film, and the page records no audience or sales figures.
Why it lands
- The receipt is universal to grocery shopping and it is exactly what membership touches, so the medium states 'owned by you' before the story starts.
- Real till data — text, barcodes and numbers — kept the film honest: hand-drawn fake receipts could not carry the same proof.
- Printing and shooting 899 physical frames gave a values-led story a patient, handmade texture that suits a 180-year-old institution.
- Turning the most dreaded piece of retail paper into something beautiful gives people a new way to see an everyday object, which is what made the craft itself the story.
What it did
The film turns the receipt, the piece of paper shoppers most dread, into the record of ownership: for a member-owned retailer each receipt is literally evidence of who the business belongs to. It opened Co-op's new brand platform in July 2024, and the D&AD archive preserves the work; the page itself records no audience or sales figures.
What you can take
Find the artefact that already proves the claim: for a member-owned retailer the till receipt is ownership's paper record, and printing the film through a real printer made the craft the argument.
Since then
The platform launched on 17 July 2024 with the hero film running on ITV, and the campaign continued through the summer. In the following awards season the work was recognised by Epica, British Arrows, Campaign BIG and Creative Review, and it appears in the D&AD awards archive; the wider campaign was later credited by its agency with gains in membership and brand affinity, figures the D&AD page itself does not record.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card