RSS
« Creative Marathon | Home | Beginning the puppy process - Week 1 »
Blogtober: Saw IV - Effective Horror Advertising
October 2, 2007
I was up late last night watching Comedy Central reruns, since I occasionally forget about Jon Stewart and he’s replayed at 1:00 am.
Being the creep that I am, I was also researching rumors surrounding Saw IV, which is to be released on the 26th of this month (and, if you’re unaware, they’re also working on the fifth and sixth).
I usually stay away from forums, as they’re bad for the soul, but it was very late and my judgment was impaired. I got caught up in reading some absurd plot theories when I noticed a few posts pertaining to a late-night commercial that was apparently stalking a few members and freaking them out. Even though the general consensus was that the TV spots were played primarily on Comedy Central, I had yet to catch one, despite my late nights with Jon and Stephen. There also wasn’t any proof, not even on YouTube, where there are undoubtedly clips of the Lord. I was skeptical.
And then, wouldn’t you know it, as I struggled through Sarah Silverman, I was greeted by Billy the puppet at 3:37 am.
The ads run a little like this:
1. A general commercial is played.
2. White noise briefly follows, with colored lines and dead air. Silence. Billy appears briefly. Image cuts away.
3. A second general commercial is played.
4. Billy is immediately presented in a similar fashion, says, “Hello” (or, apparently, may only laugh).
5. A final general commercial is played, followed by the actual Saw IV theatrical trailer.
Why this works:
- It’s 4:00 in the morning. A preview for the new Scooby Doo is likely to make me shudder.
- Splitting the spot once would be unexpected, but adding a third clip, the extra “Hello” piece after the second commercial, is different and effective.
- The two images of Billy are exactly like, or at least very similar to, those from the actual movies, and the freaky shots placed between commercials that feature cynical cavemen and Buzz Ballads make the viewer uncertain of what’s happening (read: 4:00 am).
- At night, the sound of comforting, harmless media banter abruptly switching to white noise, and silence, is unnerving.
- Billy the puppet. Period. They eventually show the trailer, but making the exclusive connection with that jerk, who also appears out of nowhere during dire moments in the films, is smart.
I also remember seeing something similar when The Ring was released. One commercial consisted solely of the silent scene when Samara crawls out of the well and towards the screen.
And here’s another creepy example (8th one down).
Categories: Daily
October 2nd, 2007 at 5:37 am
Yes. YES!!!!
I’ve been trying to tell a couple friends about this and the response has been “uhhh…right.” like I was trying to create a media urban legend.
Thanks for putting it out there.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:37 am
You’re the only girl I know who will wear pretty dresses to tea parties and then come home and excitedly watch a Halloween marathon.
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Robert - When exactly was there last a tea party, and how do you know I was wearing a pretty dress?
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:28 pm
You know what I mean, ms. etiquette and Tudor history. =)
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
That thing scares me.
But I agree - that’s a good campaign.
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:11 pm
[...] IV is coming out at the end of the month and the TV commercials have started. ThatNight.net pointed out a super-creepy late-night commercial airing on Comedy Central recently. While ThatNight [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 2:55 am
I had a feeling this was the case. The other night, I evidently only saw the first of these 3 clips, and - although I’d never heard about the marketing campaign - I presumed this was some sort of viral domino effect.
Oddly, they never played the follow-up clip or the trailer, which was even creepier, to me — arbitrarium without context…
Cheers.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
We pulled the series of commercials from our Tivo and put them up on our site here: http://www.moviesnobs.net/saw-iv-creepy-tv-commercial/
October 5th, 2007 at 1:28 am
[...] a quick update to follow up my previous Saw IV post, Blogtober: Saw IV - Effective Horror Advertising, the wonderful people at Movie Snobs caught the TV spots and put them up on YouTube. Surprisingly, [...]
October 13th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Here in Canada we’ve been getting the ads randomly with the puppet just looking at the camera and saying “hello”..no follow ups..
eek!