We open on a granny who looks like she could be part of a Norman Rockwell painting. She’s sitting at a table, reading a bedtime story, presumably to a youngster who’s off camera. Beneath the table are a cat and a ball of yarn.
“Tired from his adventure, the little boy settled into his bed and slept and slept and slept,” she reads from a book. The old lady gets up to, we assume, tuck her now deep-in-slumber grandchild under the covers.
However, it’s not a little tyke in bed. Instead it’s a scared, sweaty man.
“Oh dear, you look a little warm,” she says, snatching the blanket off of him and revealing that the guy is tied down to a bed of nails. He’s trembling in fear and is clearly in pain. A quick cut shows blood dripping down one of the nails.
The little old lady holds a pair of scissors, briefly leaving to the imagination what she’s about to do next. We soon find out as she begins to cut a rope above the bed, releasing a heavy anvil. A parting shot shows the man looking up in horror at the falling anvil.
The spot then cuts to an end tag, accompanied by a voiceover, promoting Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando. “The storyteller presents tales of terror at Universal,” relates the voiceover. “This year no one will live happily ever after.”
Airing throughout Florida, the commercial debuted on Sept. 30 and concludes on Halloween night. Amanda Evans directed the spot via Tight, Santa Monica, for agency davidandgoliath (dng), Los Angeles.
Jonathon Ker executive produced for Tight, with freelancer Bridget Blake-Wilson serving as line producer. The DP was Ross Richardson.
The dng team consisted of creative directors David Angelo and Liz Gumbinner, copywriter Melissa Pipeling, art director Anne Bioty and producer Erin Sullivan.
Editor was freelancer Alycia Daniels, who worked through Union Editorial’s facility in Santa Monica. Online editors were Todd Iorio and Seth Silberfein of Union Editorial. Colorist was Mike Pethel of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio mixer was Matt Lewkowicz of Union Editorial.
Visual effects were done by Sway, Los Angeles, and Union Editorial. Sound designers were Jon Klok of Agent Jackson, New York, and Union’s Lewkowicz. Music composer was Michael Fitzpatrick of Agent Jackson.
Principal actors were Shannon Wells and Donovan McGrath.
