Bird's Eye and Travelodge

Soft toys are brilliant, aren't they? They never need feeding, walking, or putting down after they’ve been hit by a car. They’re always there when you’re watching a scary film and need something to hide behind. However, whilst we’ve been letting these cute and furry inanimate objects surreptitiously slip into our homes, a couple of adverts doing the rounds currently have revealed their true nature.
In the first post I ever wrote about advertising, I commented on Bird’s Eye’s attempt to sex up fish fingers, which resulted in an advert that I would find uncomfortable to watch with my parents (which, I have to concede, suggests that it worked). In their most recent advert, they’ve gone back to more childish themes with this advert, depicting a polar bear in a freezer:



Ok, so maybe not entirely childish themes. Judging by this polar bear’s accent and general demeanour, he is in fact, in one of the higher positions in some sort of kitchen-based crime syndicate. His last words “I’m watching you” are more heavily laced with menace than every line that Hannibal Lecter has uttered. Combined.
To be honest, I’m quite surprised that there isn’t a corpse somewhere else in the freezer. Although I get the impression that he’s far to good at getting his goons to do the dirty work for him. Expect a director’s cut soon.

In fact, you barely have to wait, as Travelodge has already produced an advert illustrating the grittier side of the soft toy underworld:



Yes, here is Mr Sleep and the Zzz Squad dispensing mob justice to bed-based paraphernalia (and apparently a bear). And sure, whilst it may appear that they’re only removing the bad things which could inhibit a night’s sleep, how long until they start dipping into less legitimate activities? Tomorrow you lose a cushion you quite liked, the next day, it could be a finger.

Sleep tight.