Editorials
Monsters Gone Mainstream: Monsters in TV Ads!
It may not feel like it yet, but Fall is here. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler, and the sweet and savory aroma of pumpkin spice is inescapable. Halloween decorations and candy have been overflowing grocery store isles since August, and it’s only a matter of time before the Halloween TV ads begin playing every five minutes.
Halloween commercials are one of my favorite things about the holiday. They’re usually filled with children trick-or-treating down the pumpkin-lit streets of their neighborhood, promoting the low prices of Spooktacular costumes or monster-size candy sales. The images of the holiday are as comforting as a warm hug on a chilly Autumn night, and one can’t help but get in the spirit of Halloween when it’s visible everywhere.
Sadly, just as quickly as the holiday and all that comes with it arrives, it’s gone. The pumpkins slowly start to wither and wilt on the front porch, the orange lights come down from windowsills, and lawn skeletons crawl back to their rightful place in the damp basement. It’s an empty, overwhelming feeling that lingers around until the next holiday.
And then something magical happens. Something that brings all those amazing feelings of Halloween joy rushing back. Monster ads—and I don’t mean the energy drink!
Monsters in commercials were always relegated for the Halloween season, but as the horror genre spreads its wings and flies into the homes of mainstream audiences on a weekly basis, horror has been popping up in television ads year-round. Featured in ads for everything from cable companies, insurance, cell phones, and more, these ads will certainly fulfill your Halloween, horror-loving soul throughout the year.
Here are some of my favorites.
Spectrum Monsters
Spectrum cable’s recent ad campaign features everyone’s favorite monsters in everyday situations. Advertising the “evils of satellite TV,” a group of friends—who just so happen to be monsters—are shown participating in very human activities like playing poker or riding the train. The hilarious ads feature monsters like a mummy, a werewolf, a vampire, and a talking doll as if they were regular Joe-Shmoe’s who must deal with the same problems as all of us!
In one ad, the talking doll complains about being confused for a little boy while on a date, and in another, a mummy describes summoning demons in between dropping his kids off at soccer. See, they’re just like us!
The ads all end with the monsters getting upset about their satellite TV, and boast the slogan, “TV that’s missing stuff is evil. Spectrum has it all.”
Frankie’s Holiday
I was surprised to see Frankenstein’s monster in a Christmas ad last year and was even more surprised by the tears welling up in my eyes. The unexpected, heartwarming Apple ad features Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Frankie, the big guy who just wants to share the holidays with others.
After spending a night by the fire alone, Frankie journeys into town and unintentionally frightens the people shopping nearby. To ease their worries, Frankie places Christmas lights on the bolts in his neck and begins singing, “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays.”
Unfortunately, the townspeople remain wary of the misunderstood monster. Then, a sweet young girl shows kindness and compassion on Frankie—like Maria in Frankenstein—and approaches him with open arms. Together, they sing the Christmas carol, and soon the entire town joins them.
The commercial will tug at your heartstrings as you watch Frankie who’s overcome with emotion when he finally feels welcome. The ad urges viewers to, “Open your heart to everyone,” which is exactly what the holidays are all about.
Dracula at the Blood Drive
Have you ever wondered what Dracula does when he’s not trying to suck your blood? Well, this funny GEICO ad gives us a glimpse of what the fanged monster does outside of his coffin. As a creature who feeds on the blood of humans, it only makes sense to find Dracula volunteering at a blood drive. In fact, it’s actually perfect. He doesn’t have to put anyone in a trance or fight off Van Helsing because people at blood drives willingly give their blood.
In the ad, a giddy Dracula is practically drooling while interviewing a blood donor about his blood type and diet. The donor is unnerved by the vampire’s presence, and rightfully so because Dracula totally wants his blood.
The commercial is hilarious and gets the point across seamlessly. People who save money with GEICO insurance are as happy as a vampire at a blood drive!
Sprint Zombie
Ever since The Walking Dead premiered on TV in 2010, zombies have been insanely popular. There’s been an excess of zombie movies and books trying to capitalize on the show’s success, so it’s no surprise that advertisers have tried to feed the hordes of viewers who are hungry for more.
Sprint jumped on the zombie train with their ad promoting the company’s unlimited guarantee for life plan. The guarantee is so solid, it even protects someone who isn’t alive…which doesn’t even really make sense, but who cares?
The exchange between zombie and Sprint employee is enjoyable to watch, especially because the zombie tries to pass himself off as a living person. Until, a piece of his body falls off and he needs to admit he’s dead. It’s ridiculous, goodhearted fun.
Jon Hamm HR Block Zombie Ad
Jon Hamm played an advertising exec for years on TV, so moving onto commercials is a natural progression. The ad shows Hamm sitting down at a dining table with a female zombie discussing her tax refund. She dreams of taking a nice vacation with her return money, and Hamm jokes she needs to be careful because of her skin tone. She laughs and it’s revealed the two are on a TV set—likely for The Walking Dead—and she’s a zombie extra. This ad is just another example of the popularity of zombies.
Bored to Death
This humorous Starburst ad claims the colorful candies are a juicy contradiction. While on a bus, an Asian Scottish man describes the delectable hard and soft candies to his oblivious son. Then, a zombie interrupts to point out that he himself is a contradiction.
The “living dead” man complains he’s being bored-to-death—even though he’s already dead—by the man’s Starburst observations. The commercial doesn’t really make sense, but it’s still alluring and oddly funny to watch.
Meet the Mortons
Being a vampire is hard enough, but when you add on raising a family and keeping a well-balanced diet, it can be painful. Thankfully, this vampire family finds the perfect solution for their on-the-go lifestyle: Kellog Nutri Grain bars!
This commercial feels like a shortened, less-frightening Goosebumps episode mixed with Modern Family—and it’s everything I’ve ever wanted. Once the family has their breakfast bars we get to see them brushing their teeth without a reflection, waiting for the school bus alongside terrified classmates, and walking their bat through the neighborhood like it was a dog.
It’s a creative glimpse at monsters living normal lives, and it offers a different side of vampires who aren’t lusting for blood. And if that doesn’t awaken Halloween memories and feels, nothing will.
These are only a few of the dozens of horror-related TV ads you’ll find while channel surfing throughout the year. Each advertises something different, and all are sure to bring a smile to your face. What are some of your favorites?
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
You must be logged in to post a comment.