This Bloody Clever Dracula Ad Gets Creepier as the Sun Goes Down – Adweek

Dracula, the gothic masterpiece from Bram Stoker, is the century-old gift that keeps on givingnot only to fans and content producers, but also to marketers looking for a juicy project to sink their teeth into.

Ad mavens in the U.K. have captured the essence of vampiric DNA and blended it with modern outdoor ad tech to draw viewers to BBC Ones new version of the classic blood-sucker tale, airing on TV this week.

BBC Creatives billboard appears to be just speckled with wooden stakes by day. But as night falls, those weapons start casting shadows across the canvas, eventually revealing the silhouette of the shows star. The undead monster, after all, only operates under cover of darkness.

The outdoor campaign, running in London and Birmingham, is one of the most ambitious special builds weve ever undertaken, says Olly Harnett, creative head of BBC Creative. It also includes a glass box at street level that contains a single sharpened stake with the directive, Break in case of vampires.

Dracula, from Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (beloved for their work on Doctor Who and Sherlock), stars Claes Bang as the magnetic villain from Transylvania. The Guardian calls the show an homage to all the great Counts who have gone before, but still entirely its own thing.

Ads have aimed to convey the programs dark humor and rock star swagger, says Chris Hooper, BBC Ones head of marketing. This approach can be seen in the use of Bloody Legend as a tagline and Iggy Pops Lust for Life as the trailers soundtrack:

This isnt the first clever use of vampire-centric dayparting weve seen in recent years. To promote the now-departed Fox series The Passage in 2019, agency BETC/Havas So Paulo created posters that burst into flames at sunrise. The self-immolating ads on the streets of So Paulo used flammable paint, made from potassium permanganate and sulfuric acid, to turn its vampire character portraits to ash when exposed to sunlight.

BBC Creative has also brought outdoor innovation to bear for other recent projects. The in-house agency created a His Dark Materials billboard in November 2019 that featured a warrior polar bear that seemed to breathe steam into the night air.

CREDITS:

BBC CreativeECD: Helen RhodesHead of Planning: Mike LeanHead of Production: James WoodCreative Head: Olly HarnettCreative: James FairfieldCreative: Mathew ReesCreative: Reuben DangoorCreative: Vikki StephensonCreative: Dominic LeaAudio: Lewis ClarkPictures: Victoria DaltonProducer: Ivana BohuslavovaProducer: Sophie KnottProject Manager: Astrid ReinerPlanner: Sam PaveyDesign: Johnny AceDesign: Amir SaidaniDesign: Kieran AhmedDesign: Geraint WilliamsEditor: Thomas IoannouEditor: Chris Knox

BBCMarketing Manager: Faye JonesMarketing Executive: Lucy HodsonMedia Planning Lead: Marc JonesCampaign Planner: Gemma ThrelfallSocial Media Executive: Emily Mitchinson

Sound/Bark: Andy HumphreysStills Photographer: David Ellis

Excerpt from:
This Bloody Clever Dracula Ad Gets Creepier as the Sun Goes Down - Adweek

Related Post

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero
This entry was posted in Dracula. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.