In just a few days, Intermarché's ad went viral with astonishing success. A billion people watched it. Such a phenomenon raises questions about the reasons for its success, especially since the brand itself is not present worldwide! What inner feelings did this film set in motion? Once Upon a Hunger, or the story of an ordinary tale by Intermarché...
On December 6, 2025, French television channels broadcast an advertisement in the form of a Christmas story about a wolf rejected by the inhabitants of the forest. The animation is accompanied by the lyrics of Claude François's Le Mal-Aimé (1974) and ends with the logo of the major French retail chain Intermarché and the tagline: "We all have a good reason to start eating better." Viewers are in no doubt: this is an advertisement, coupled with a moralizing message.
While the long format (2 minutes 30 seconds) and emotional tone are typical of Intermarché and its partner agency Romance, which has been working with the brand for seven years, the story of Mal-Aimé is surprising in its aesthetic approach, alternating between live footage and 3D animation produced by Montpellier-based Illogic Studios, a hybrid format that contrasts with the brand's previous advertisements.
This is not the first time that the Romance agency has created a "Christmas story" for Intermarché. In 2017, it told the story of a little boy who, with his big sister, tried to save Christmas by bringing vegetables to Santa Claus so that he could fit through the chimney, all set to the song by Henri Salvador, J'ai tant rêvé (2003). The Romance agency revealed that it was originally supposed to shoot the sequel to this tale before finally producing Le Mal-Aimé instead.
A Made-in-France tale without AI
The tale of Mal-Aimé comes at a very particular time, marked by an increase in images generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Recently, Coca-Cola released a new Christmas animated film designed entirely by AI with the American studio Secret Level. The one-minute commercial features animals and the brand's famous red trucks on a journey around the world. The commercial ends with a Santa Claus inspired by the illustrations of Haddon Sundblom, an iconic figure in the brand's history.
The audiovisual and advertising landscape is changing with the growing use of images designed by generative artificial intelligence. In this context, Intermarché's decision to stick with traditional techniques that require the participation of around 60 people has been praised by viewers in France and internationally.
As Lucas Navarro, co-founder ofIllogic Studios, explains:
"To do this, it was important to work with real, highly talented artists rather than using AI, so it was really a choice we made."
The logic of Santa Claus in advertising
This story, which the public embraces, contradicts theories that portray the public as gullible and receptive to all marketing messages. French sociologist Baudrillard presents advertising as a "logic of fable and adherence," meaning that viewers want to believe in it, and this acceptance linked to emotion is what makes advertising (in the broad sense) successful.
By telling the story of an unloved wolf who learns to eat healthily, Intermarché is not selling vegetables, but offering viewers a true Christmas story. Advertising as a "logic of fable and adherence" as explained by Baudrillard is in full swing here. No one really believes it, and yet we all adhere to it!
As the sociologist explains:
"It's the whole story of Santa Claus: children no longer question his existence and never proceed from this existence to the gifts they receive as cause and effect—belief in Santa Claus is a rationalizing fabrication."
Advertising works in the same way: adults agree to become children again when they see an advertisement, which they receive as a gift.
Viewers who watch the carnivorous wolf transform into a vegetarian wolf in order to make friends also become complicit in this fable. And to keep this emotion intact, Intermarché shows no trace of prices or labels, relegating the commercial message to the background.
Indeed, far from the daily reality and economic concerns facing France, this Christmas tale focuses on living together. Laughter and smiles fill the different characters in this French household, where the fire crackles, not far from a table around which adults, including a mother concerned about her bored son and a single uncle, enjoy the festive dinner.
When the wolf enters the sheepfold
The wolf, who is a louvard (a teenage wolf), wonders about his lack of friends and the controversies he raises. Through his personality, the wolf represents wild instincts, the urges that guide the canine to consume meat and threaten his future friends to the point of killing them, sacrificing them for his own nutritional needs.
Like a serial killer infiltrating society who must learn to become a vegetarian in order to be accepted. Bourdieu would refer to this as symbolic violence when a change of identity is required to blend into the group. Viewers prefer to see it as a sense of adaptation and a rejection of violence that could destroy the social and friendly group.
But the wolf remains the unfortunate anti-hero of the story. It is true that this first level of interpretation serves to propagate the idea that violence cannot be tolerated in a social group and that it is important during these festivities to remain united despite each person's temperament.
The moral of this story
Does the use of the symbol of restricting meat consumption serve to absolve a clientele that may not be able to afford meat during these festive periods in favor of plant-based foods? The motivations for a change in food culture can also be ecological (reduction in water and land use, etc.), ethical (animal welfare, etc.) or a desire to be healthier.
Thierry Cotillard, president of the Mousquetaires group, which owns the Intermarché chain, was keen to clarify his intention: "That's not the message. The message is 'we don't exclude anyone' [...], it's about living together," and not promoting vegetarianism. However, the brand's approach is clearly built around "eating better," a message that the Romance agency has successfully conveyed in its advertising for the past seven years.
By positioning itself as a supporter of this paradigm shift in food, Intermarché is taking on a moral leadership role that goes beyond its commercial dimension, joining other brand ethos. The brand presents itself less as a distributor and more as an ethical guarantor capable of guiding its consumers towards more responsible choices.
Frédéric Aubrun, Lecturer and Researcher in Digital Marketing &Communication at BBA INSEEC - European Business School, INSEEC Grande École, and Marie-Nathalie Jauffret, Research Associate at SICLAB (Université Côte d'Azur)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.
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