Walmart has spent more than $18 million on tear-jerking ads to fix its infamous reputation (WMT)

pulse

August 10, 2017 2:54 PM

Walmart is spending millions of dollars to make sure Americans know about investments that might rehab the retailer's reputation.

A screenshot from Walmart's $17.6 million ad about American-made goods.

Walmart is spending millions of dollars to make sure Americans know about investments that might rehab the retailer's reputation.

Walmart spent $17.6 million on an ad that aired earlier this year about the retailer's plan to buy $250 billion in American-made or grown products, the New York Times reports. Additionally, the company has spent roughly $650,000 on emotional commericals in the past year highlighting a new worker training program called Walmart Academy.

In recent years, Walmart has been making major efforts to ditch its reputation as an anti-worker company that values profit above all else.

“We’ve invested billions of dollars in our people through new training, education and higher wages," the company said in a statement to Business Insider. "As our associates seize the opportunity to learn new skills and grow their careers, they’re better equipped to meet the changing needs of customers. They are the heroes of our advertising campaigns and we’re proud to shine a spotlight on them."

In 2015, Walmart committed to investing $2.7 billion over two years in higher wages, scheduling improvements, and employee training. As people increasingly shop online, improving in-store experiences is crucial to retailers' success. And, Walmart has said that higher pay has improved customer service at stores.

However, there's also more reputation-centric reasons to invest in better customer service and buying American goods.

Spending millions of dollars on advertisements that highlight the retailer's recent investments shows that Walmart realizes convincing customers it is changing is just as important as making the changes.