The independent owners of the region's 27 Foodland grocery stores are launching a new ad campaign to appeal to shoppers nostalgic for happier times with families, friends and home cooking.

While the "Close to Home" tag line that's been Foodland's calling card for at least 15 years won't disappear, the new line for the campaign will be: "Foodland. When you're hungry for dinner."

The stores want to get people's attention with something fresh, and respond to economic changes that have stressed consumers and stirred their nesting instincts, said Pete Waterkotte, an account director with Strip District ad agency Mullen, which created the campaign.

One 30-second spot focuses on a family actually eating dinner together -- and not at a fast-food restaurant. One commercial on the drawing boards would play up the appeal of the traditional backyard cookout.

"It's a goose-bumpy type of campaign," said Mr. Waterkotte, who described the tone as gentle.

The new campaign will run on several cable networks as well as radio.

As the base of Foodland operators has shrunk over the past several years, the group supplied by Minnesota grocery distributor Supervalu has had more limited resources to battle competitors such as Giant Eagle, Wal-Mart and Aldi.

The battle didn't get any easier as the recession accelerated market share shifts. Nationally, the number of shoppers and the frequency of their visits was down in traditional supermarkets last year, according to research firm TNS Retail Forward ShopperScape.

Many consumers are going to dollar stores, extreme-value stores and Wal-Mart Supercenters, according to senior consultant Kelly Tackett, at the research firm in Columbus, Ohio.

In addition to tugging at the heartstrings, each of the new Foodland TV commercials reserves time to remind shoppers to check out deals in the group's ad circular, said Mr. Waterkotte.

The "Close to Home" line is still used by about 50 Foodland stores in West Virginia. Mullen has presented the new campaign to that group as well, and is awaiting a decision.