During tough economic times, back-to-basics marketing reaches a fever pitch. But at a time when most corporate marketing budgets were whittled to the extreme, a campaign from grocery giant Loblaw Cos. for its No Name line of in-house consumer goods line virtually rewrote the genre of no-frills simplicity.

When the company relaunched its No Name line one year ago in the depths of the recession -- a happy coincidence in timing for Loblaw, as it had planned the brand revival for months -- it went back to the basic, bold packaging it used in 1978 when the line launched with just 16 products: a product name in black lowercase typeface against a lemon-yellow background. The packaging had no product shots.

The television ads from Loblaw's ad agency of record, Bensimon Byrne, are bringing that packaging to life, featuring scrolling black text against a blinding yellow backdrop to the strains of kitschy stock organ music.

"They are produced for a fraction of what a [standard] Canadian TV commercial costs," says David Rosenberg, creative director at Bensimon Byrne.

"There is no film, there are no actors." Since the brand relaunch, the agency has created 19 of the No Name spots.

"We don't have a single item under $2," the text of one recent ad reads. "We have 300." The No Name insignia appears onscreen to close out the ad. That's it.

"[Loblaw] was looking to get back to [a message conveying] no gimmicks, no fakery -- just high-quality products at the lowest price possible," Mr. Rosenberg said. Another spot highlights Loblaw's money-back guarantee on No Name, aimed at encouraging customers to try the generic offering rather than a national brand alternative, and return the No Name version for a refund if they think it is sub-par. The ad jokes that the guarantee itself does not have a name -- "you just get your money back."

Loblaw's stripped-down branding is a departure from how the line was marketed in recent years. As No Name grew over the years from 16 staples to more than 2,900 products today, the line began to take on a look that resembled its flashier private-label sister, President's Choice. It featured pictures on the packaging, and while the bright yellow backdrop was usually present, the text was less obtrusive and featured other colours in addition to black.

"Two years ago it was spectacular packaging, similar in many cases to what the national brands were offering," says Ian Gordon, senior vice-president of grocery at Loblaw.

But blending in was exactly what Loblaw needed to guard against -- with the bold packaging muted, the generic brand looked too much like its higher-priced rivals. "When you went into the frozen pizza aisle, you would have to hunt for [No Name pizza]," he said. Sold at a 25% lower price tag than comparative national brands, the brand appeals to consumers watching their wallets, but "the real impetus for this was about restoring the in-store distinctiveness of the packaging," Mr. Gordon said.

While No Name may be bread-and-butter basic, the desire to return it to its roots came from the top echelons of Loblaw. Allan Leighton, the company president, distinctly recalls coming into Loblaw stores 20 years ago, looking down the aisles and being impressed with the clarity of the yellow-and-black No Name brand, which made it stand out against the other products, Mr. Gordon said.