Jack in the Box is cooking up a seriously spooky Halloween campaign featuring the brand’s first-ever horror short which rolls out today (10/13).
The campaign marks the return of Jack’s infamous Monster Tacos and the launch of their all-new product: Angry Monster Tacos.
Titled Feeding Time, this horror short was written by Hollywood-pedigreed horror writers Marcus Dunstan, Asha Michelle Wilson, Patrick Melton and Kara Lee Corthron, respectively known for their work on projects like American Horror Story: 1984, Servant and the Saw film franchise. Dunstan also directed the short in which a couple of kids are bullied and have their trick-or-treat candy taken from them by some older kids/young adults. But in Feeding Time, the victimized kids get their candy back while the perpetrators get quite the comeuppance.
Directly impacted by the WGA strike, the Hollywood writers were a part of the creative/script development, giving them an outlet to continue their creative output. Additionally, agency TBWAChiatDay LA identified opportunities to take a line-producing approach instead of a traditional production house approach for the campaign, allowing them to collaborate with film crew who had also been indirectly impacted by the strike.
Credits
Client Jack in the Box Agency TBWAChiatDay Renato Fernandez, chief creative officer; Bruno Regalo, chief design officer; Jason Karley, executive creative director; Bert Marissen, Jeff O’Keefe, creative directors; Stephanie Sczublewski, sr. art director; Jamie Wynn, Heather English, sr. copywriters; Scott Behrens, copywriter; Cameron Cartwright, art director; Kim-Lara King, executive producer; Amand Azoroh, sr. producer; Aliza Grover, Sergio Muniz, Chris Wood, producers; Daysi Centeno, production coordinator; Corey Kindberg, strategy director; Aaron Rivera, sr. strategist; Stephanie Ehui, head of connections strategy; Josh Brinkman, data strategist. Creative/Hollywood Screenwriter Partners Asha Michelle Wilson, Kara Lee Corthron, Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan. Production Company Green Arm Man Productions Marcus Dunstan, director; Eric Leach, DP; Sean Gowrie, line producer/unit production manager; Christopher T. Sadler, 1st AD; Michael Barton, production designer; Lauren Kendall Veronick, costume designer; Onyx Studios, creature effects designer. Editorial Andre Coutts, editor; James Rota, producer. VFX Set In Stone Brook Stone, Jackie Stone, producers. Monster Truck Model & Animation Soapbox Films Tentacle Model & Animation Ty Thomson Monster Effects Dastoli Digital. Color Therapy Studios Omar Inguanzo, sr. colorist. Sound Design & Mix Therapy Studios Dillon Cahill, mix engineer; Dori Holly, assistant mix engineer; John Ramsay, exec producer. Music Charles Clouser, artist/composer. Production Company (Food) Camp Lucky Tom Ryan, director/DP; Tammie Kleinmann, CEO/partner; Brandon Tapp, exec producer; Chelsea Sevadjian, Evan Murphy, producers. Editorial Be Grizzlee Mick Hackett, Cudjo Collins, Paul Plew, editors; Mystikal Scalzi, assistant editor; Ian Dawson, exec producer; Jesse Looney, sr. producer. VFX Christopher Moore, sr. Flame (cleanup/comp); Jimmy Cassale, Flame (cleanup/comp); Laura Panella, effects/graphics; Jesse Looney, sr. producer. Color Luis Silva, sr. colorist. Sound Design & Mix (Food only) Lime Studios Adam Primack, mix engineer; Ally Hustings, Collin Thomas, Ian Connie, assistant mix engineers; Cassie Underwood, associate producer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer.
In this Super Bowl :30 for Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup--directed by Matias & Mathias of Epoch Films for agency Erich & Kallman--a concerned park ranger reports live from the site of an active volcano where Reese’s fans are going to extreme lengths to get their hands and taste buds on the lava flow.
As passion builds, a team of park rangers rein in the mayhem--saving grandma from scootering into the hot flowing molten lava--and try to clear up the confusion: “Don‘t eat lava. Eat ooey-gooey Chocolate Lava.”
“There’s nothing better than seeing our fans go wild over new flavor additions to the classic Reese’s chocolate and peanut butter combo,” said Ryan Riess, VP of brand strategy and creative development, The Hershey Company. “The Big Game is the perfect stage to showcase our fan’s energy – whether that be from the top of a volcano or on the couch during football Sunday.”
In a joint statement, directors Matias & Mathias said of the “Don’t Eat Lava” spot, “Although the characters’ obsession with Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cups is completely realistic and very easy to identify with, our favorite part of this project was seeing all the talented people we got to work with become obsessed with making the lava flows of our dreams become a reality.”
