I have a high threshold for creepiness. I like horror movies. I want the teenagers to go into the dark cave. After the car breaks down in the rain on the deserted road, I can't wait for them to knock on the door of the creepy house. I love it when they don't know their shadows are moving independently of them. And toy clowns with eyes that follow them around the room? Yes please.
But I saw something on television this morning that creeped me out more than any movie has in a long time. This commercial for Mathnasium.
First of all, in the same way people who live in Anaheim never go to Disneyland, I almost never pay attention to commercials. However when the creepfactor is cranked up to eleven, it can't help but be a slow, drive by car wreck I can't look away from.
To quote Stefon, "This spot's got everything."
A pedestrian concept.
White-bread casting.
Bargain-basement CGI.
Needle drop music.
Giant A+ spray painted on the classroom wall (to go with the A+ on all the freakishly animated student sweaters).
Annoying voiceover.
Kid giving a thumbs up.
A token Asian cause, you know, math.
A maybe Hispanic kid and his maybe Hispanic mom.
A kid that says, "Awesome." Because that's how kids talk.
Not sure why, but for some reason for me the spot has an "It's a cookbook!" quality to it. Maybe it's the bad CGI on the badly animated students.
Here's what I think would help: if the kid at the end of the spot smiled and looked at his reflection in the car window. We'd hold for a beat, then his reflection suddenly turns into a killer clown, breaks through the glass and rips the little suckers' throat out.
I know, it probably wouldn't be good for enrollment. But you can't tell me it wouldn't add up to a much more memorable spot.
