Albertsons Surprisingly Digital - Selection '07

Came across this Albertsons program when I was waist deep in Google gadgets trying to see if retailers were using the technology. And apparently one is.
Found a gadget for each of Albertsons "candidates" for a program they are calling "Selection '07" where the different foods are vying for your votes. Cheese, steak, shrimp, pineapple, egg and broccoli are the candidates. And although I don't eat seafood, shrimp is my favorite because he wears a monocle.
Once I voted via the gadget, which also featured recipe ideas for each ingredient, I was whisked off to the Selection 07 site. The site includes a series of funny videos which are housed on Youtube, where Albertsons has its own branded page set up for all the videos in the program. In addition to videos, for each candidate there are more recipes, downloads (the shrimp mask was my favorite, again the monocle kills me), wallpapers, IM icons, etc...
For a retailer to create a program like this says that they are investing in their brand and creating a personality that shoppers/consumers can connect with. As manufacturers and agencies, we need to recognize these personalities and determine how we can create programs to complement those efforts.