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Walmart employees band together to sing Bill Withers' 'Lean On Me' in new ad

Posted at 10:46 AM, Apr 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-10 11:14:21-04

Walmart's latest commercial is more of a motivational message than an advertisement.

It started with a group of employees singing Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" to encourage each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other Walmart employees quickly following.

The retail chain was inspired by the movement and decided to turn it into a commercial.

Among those featured in the commercial is 32-year-old Vernon Futrell, an employee at a Walmart Distribution Center in Dinwiddie, Virginia.

"People really understood where we were coming from, it was just heart touch, heart feeling," Futrell said. "...this is our moment people, to stand up and just come together, we all need each other right now."

The ad is especially poignant after Withers died of heart complications last week. He was 81.