Well isn’t this fetch? Walmart, one of the retail giants known for its Black Friday deals, is taking an innovative approach to this year’s holiday shopping event by partnering with the OG cast of the beloved 2004 movie Mean Girls. In a series of advertisements, the cast members will reprise their roles as adults to showcase Walmart’s Black Friday offerings.
Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried are among the film’s cast members making a return, portraying their adult characters, some of whom now have their own “mean girls.”
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Lindsay Lohan also shared her enthusiasm for the reunion, saying, “It was so nice being back together after all these years. It was great catching up with everyone.” Lacey Chabert added, “It was wonderful to spend the day with Amanda and Lindsay. It was so much fun to reminisce and be together again after all these years.” Watch the almost two-minute short below:
REELated:
Walmart’s senior vice president of marketing, Courtney Carlson, stated, “Walmart is really known for Black Friday, and we don’t intend to lose that positioning.” The new commercials, designed to be “unmissable,” will be featured on both traditional advertising channels and social media platforms. Walmart aims to draw early attention to holiday shopping by offering great deals and prices ahead of Black Friday, scheduled for November 24, and Cyber Monday on November 27.
The spots launched on Wednesdays, a nod to the day the Plastics from Mean Girls wear pink. New iterations will appear every subsequent Wednesday during the month, with each week featuring a different cast member in an ad and a social media post.
Daniel Franzese, who revives his character Damian Leigh for the campaign, expressed his excitement: “We think fans are going to be super excited to see us after all these years. I know we are excited for everyone to see what we’ve all been up to.”
Walmart previously employed a similar strategy in 2022, reviving the 1999 film Office Space for Black Friday ads, reuniting actors Gary Cole and Ajay Naidu.
The campaign had its share of surprises, as a leaked photo of the Mean Girls cast fueled speculation of a potential Super Bowl commercial. However, Walmart’s Carlson confirmed that the photo “legitimately leaked” and was not part of a deliberate marketing ploy. Walmart maintained secrecy to ensure the campaign’s debut remained a surprise.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Walmart
AGENCY: Publicis Groupe: Fallon, Publicis NY, the community, Contender, Digitas
- Publicis Groupe creative agencies:
- Chief Creative Officer: Nikki Baker/Fallon,
- Executive Creative Director: Travis Parr/Fallon
- Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Abby Gross/Fallon
- Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Sara Cummings/Fallon
- Art Director: Grace Geary/Fallon
- Copywriter: Kayla Hall/Fallon
- EVP, Design: Daniel Arenas/Publicis NY
- Creative Director, Design: Nicolas Palacio/Publicis NY
- Associate Creative Director, Design: Lydia Bickal/Publicis NY
- Head of Production: Chris DeToy/Publicis NY / PXP
- Senior Producer: Rachel Tierney/Publicis | PXP
- Associate Producer: Trevor Hembling/Publicis NY | PXP
- SVP, Director Business Affairs: Robin Oksenhendler/Publicis NY | PXP
- Business Manager: Yenia Paez/Publicis NY | PXP
- Business Manager: Devona Mayeur/Publicis NY | PXP
- President, Dept W: Alda Abbracciamento/Publicis NY
- SVP Group Account Director: Lauren Pulwer/Publicis NY
- VP Account Director: Andrea Hoock/Publicis NY
- Account Supervisor: Andrea Delloiacono/Digitas
- Program Management: Martin Connolly/Publicis NY; Erin Murphy/Publicis NY
- Chief Strategy Officer: Patrick White/Publicis NY
- Chief Strategy Officer: Kristian May Stewart/Contender
- VP, Strategy Director: Melissa Panasci/Publicis NY
- Associate Director, Connections Strategist: Celeste Yee/Digitas
- Associate Strategy Director: Pablo Gonzalez/the community
- Social Strategist: Missy Young/Fallon
- Senior Strategist: Taylor Brodie/Publicis NY
- Senior Strategist: Cole Nixon/Publicis NY
- Talent, IP and Music Negotiations & Licensing by Creative License
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hungry Man
- Director: Lucia Aniello
- Managing Partner/EP: Kim Dellara
- Managing Partner/EP: Caleb Dewart
- Head of Production: Marian Harkness
- DP: Adam Bricker
- Line Producer: Maggie McLean
- Production Supervisor: Ben Oswald
EDIT: Union
- Editor: Merritt Duff
- Editor: Justin Quagliata
- Editor: Ryan Stacom
- Assistant Editor: Artemis Tapliga
- Managing Director: Caryn Maclean
- Executive Producer: Melissa Lubin
- Head of Production: Lily Hartmann
FINISH AND AUDIO: Harbor
- Head of Production: Tia Perkins
- VFX Producer: Kalisha Allen
- 2D Creative Director: Anne Trotman
- Senior Flame Artist: Gigi Ng
- Flame Artist: Sam Caine
- Compositor: Hailey Akashian
- Tech Ops: Will Curtin, Alejandra Cedeno
- Creative Director, Motion Design: David Soto
- Head of Operations: Alyson Peters
- Audio Senior Producer: Lauren Boyle
- Senior Audio Mixer: Glen Landrum
- Associate Mixer: Catherine Sangiovanni
COLOR: Company 3
- Producer: Shannen Troup
- Senior Colorist: Sofie Friis Borup
PubW/Publicis Groupe: Media Strategy and Buying:
- Client Lead: Erica Rosengart
- Executive Vice President, Strategy: Megan Harris
- EVP, Total Integrated Investment: Dan Rolli
- SVP, National Video Investment: Kait Grier
- VP, National Video Investment: Ken Miller
- Director, National Video Investment: Mackenzie Weilheimer
- Associate Director, National Investment: Sarafiena Watkins
- VP, Strategy & Planning: Ileza Dantzig
- Associate Director, Strategy: Sami Meyerson
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