Over the last few months, we have seen actors, athletes, musicians, and TV personalities, from Jennifer Aniston to “Ahnuld,” donning masks to promote wearing them during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Reel 360 team never saw the use of a serial killer coming. But that is the case in our new Reel Ad of the Week (RAW) from Ogilvy Health in New York. But it is true, the agency has enlisted Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees to star in a new PSA.
In the video, the dashing slasher, who has terrorized the young people at Camp Crystal Lake in 9 movies (the first one was his mother), is seen walking around New York City as various people notice him walking down the street, in a park or on the subway and immediately run.
“It’s not easy. The mask kind of makes people uncomfortable,” Voorhees narrates at the beginning of the commercial, as he roams about New York City. “I’m just trying to fit in.” Life for Jason is a nightmare – Jason rides the subway, tries to pet a dog in Central Park, and fails to hail a cab.
But it’s not Jason that’s scaring the New Yorkers. But his hockey mask which isn’t safe enough to slow the spread of COVID-19! The CDC says the novel coronavirus spreads primarily through respiratory droplets, and cloth face coverings can prevent droplets from traveling in the air and onto other people.
A young girl hands him a medical-looking face mask, and all is well. Watch below:
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Ogilvy Health said in their IG post, “Wearing a mask has proven to be an easy and important way to stem the spread of the #coronavirus, yet many New Yorkers still aren’t doing it. This is especially true of younger people who may feel invincible to #Covid19.”
By tapping into pop culture to convey a “life-saving message,” one hopes that it will reach the intended younger audience who think they’re “invincible” from the virus.
The New York Post reports a recent MTA survey found one in 10 passengers on NYC subways still refuse to wear a mask despite a statewide order making them mandatory in April.
New York state has dramatically slowed the spread of Covid-19, thanks in part to the mask order and a phased reopening plan, but the U.S. saw more than 50,000 new cases of coronavirus Wednesday, a daily record.
SOURCE: Instagram
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter12+
