I don’t know if our American readers are aware, but Willem Dafoe has been appointed as the voice of a BirdsEye advertising campaign. Basically, the advertisements see customers open the freezer to find a stuffed polar bear offering them advice. In Willem Dafoe’s voice. He praises BirdsEye and then warns threatens lets them know he’ll be watching. How this is not the stuff of nightmares, I will never know.
In fairness, Hollywood actors advertising overseas is a bit of a tradition (in fact, it’s the whole basis of Lost in Translation) and most are incredibly banal (Benecio Del Toro selling ice cream? Please!), but this one I thought was worth a mention just for the surrealness. Willem Dafoe scaring people into buying his brand of produce is well worth comment.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: advertising, birdseye, Polar bear, willem dafoe |
the m0vie blog 
Oh god…
He’s just sitting in your freezer. Waiting for you.
It frightens me so much I can’t even get past the fact that these weirdos are keeping teddies in the freezer
Well, where else would you lock him? He ain’t going anywhere near my bedroom.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Birds Eye ads when I saw them on the telly – I rather enjoyed the “…don’t be a stranger” one in some weird way. I really wish either Willem Dafoe or the polar bear lived in my fridge freezer.
But Magnum Gold? I’d love to know how del Toro used his “method acting training” for that……
On the other hand, I’d love to see Rupert Giles himself making a return to Nescafé Gold Blend 🙂
I don’t know. I’d be more comfortable if I could be sure that would contain him. I don’t want him loose in my house, lest I accidently buy some inferior products. He’s downright threatening at certain points.
Why would anyone get Willem Dafoe to help them advertise anything? At least the tactic seem to be to frighten rubes into buying their product, which isn’t the worst idea an advertising company could come up with these days.
Yep. Taht’s really the gist of it. Buy our product… or make Willem Dafoe upset.
These will live on in my nightmares.
As a result my nightmares just got 90% more awesome.
“I used to have a Willem Dafoe living under my bed.”
I’ve not seen this on TV yet but I love it…I think. Not that it particularly makes me want to go and buy Birds Eye – whatever peas are the cheapest get put in my trolley.
But then Willem Dafoe will hunt you down and move into your freezer…