Toronto woman wins Halloween early with brilliant No Name brand costume
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the most impactful.
Look no further for evidence of this principle in action than No Name brand's wildly successful ongoing takeover of subway stations, taxi cabs and walls across Toronto.
The iconic black and yellow, Loblaws-owned brand is decidedly no frills (just like where it's sold), and its perfectly pretenseless outdoor ad campaign reflects this brilliantly.
Hilarious in their straightforwardness, the ads have been winning industry praise and kudos from members of the public alike. No Name brand is suddenly hip as all hell, and Toronto is here for it.
Case in point: Hundreds of people are currently stanning a homemade, No Name brand ad-inspired Halloween costume on Reddit.
The garment in question, created by a 29-year-old Toronto artist named Sammy, is the exact kind of clever costume everyone wishes they'd thought of first once they've seen it executed, and one that can be made easily while still packing a unique punch.
"Extremely simple," said Sammy on Thursday when asked about how she created the now-viral costume. "It's a yellow zentai suit that I used for a Peanut cosplay from Harvey Birdman a month ago with some no name branded letters stuck on with tape."
Sammy works in advertising by day (though she's careful to note that she doesn't work for Loblaws in any context). She's also a prolific and talented cosplayer, as evidenced by her Instagram profile.
"I enjoy cosplaying at cons and I usually wear something extremely Canadian for Halloween," Sammy explained. "This is following the tradition of Angela Anaconda, Cybersix, and Nanalan in previous years, and I also have a Telefrancais costume in the works."
"We were coming back from a movie on Tuesday night with a transfer at Yonge and Bloor when inspiration struck," she noted of the No Name brand costume. "The ads are very funny."
While she's not selling the costume or making more (despite many requests for it), the artist says that anyone who wants to follow in her footsteps can buy a yellow morph suit and add their own text.
"No Frills should sell these next year, and I wouldn't say no to a lifetime supply of their sour cream and onion rings as a thank-you," she joked. "My grandma always had a bag of those for us kids growing up."
Overall, reaction to the costume has been overwhelmingly positive. No Name brand itself gave Sammy its seal of approval on Twitter.
Some Redditors have a hard time believing the costume isn't some sort of Loblaw's marketing stunt, but Sammy swears it was motivated only by her love of Canada's delightful weirdness.
"I usually do something Canadian that people don't usually think of because I like living here and I like all the weird and quirky things that are special about this place," she said. "Ads included."
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