Walmart has released a new commercial featuring some of its employees singing Bill Withers’ 1972 classic “Lean on Me”. The singer and song composer died earlier this week at the age of 81.
The spot, produced by FCB Chicago and entitled “Walmart Neighbors,” features several Walmart associates including Gabby from Oxford, PA, Erin from Paris, IL, Vernon from Sutherland, VA, Makenna from Alexandria, LA, and Darius from Montgomery, AL, performing the iconic song.
The commercial ends with the onscreen line “Here for you”.
The retailer said the 60-second national spot, which aims to show how Walmart associates are helping customers and how local communities are rallying together, was inspired by a video posted by its store on U.S. Highway 150 in Paris, Illinois, with employees singing the song.
The three-time Grammy Award winner died on March 30, in Los Angeles, from heart complications, according to a press statement from his family.
