Gushers’ “Fruitheads” ad campaign from the 1990s was more than a little creepy, using CGI to turn kids snacking on the candy into smiling fruit.
The brand and Imagine Entertainment tapped into nostalgia and the Halloween season by translating the old ad into body horror.
A short film, directed by Mike Diva, casts Get Out and The Cabin in the Woods star Bradley Whitford as the director of the original ‘90s commercials. Desperate for authenticity, he turns to dark magic to create candy that will actually transform kids who eat it.
In the present, he’s forced to pay for his crimes by a vengeful actor (Chester Collins), who’s had to live for decades with a rotting strawberry head.
“The Fruitheads ad has lived rent-free in the heads of Gushers fans for nearly 30 years, and they still can’t stop talking about it on social media,” Stephanie Lensing, brand experience manager for Gushers at General Mills, said in a statement. “This Halloween, we’re finally giving them what they want with a reimagining of that ’90s ad with thrills and a bit of the humor our fans love from Gushers.”
The film is running across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. The brand teased the campaign at New York’s Village Works Bookstore on Oct. 9, giving away the smiling oranges featured in the story and encouraging shoppers to scan a QR code to watch it.
The short will also be shown at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival from Oct. 16 to 25, where the brand will debut theater-style Gushers boxes.
