The Winter Talent Show is in full swing, and our favourite mean girls are back in a new Black Friday commercial from Walmart.
Retailer Walmart aims to draw attention to its Black Friday sale offerings, getting a jump on advertising before the annual holiday shopping event. As part of this, Walmart has launched a Mean Girls-themed advertisement, with several more to come in the coming weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfX-brlBH18
Staring most of the original film cast, the advertisement provides fans of the cult comedy with a long sort-after update on the girls from North Shore High.
Gretchen is just as “fetch” as ever as she picks her daughter up from school. Cady is teaching valuable lessons (that someone probably should have told her) as the North Shore High guidance counsellor; Karen still can’t be sure if it is, in fact, raining, Kevin G is playing Dad with Kevin Jr, and Damian is behind the projector as the talent show gets underway.
In addition to much of the original cast, Missy Elliott, whose “Pass The Dutch” was one of the defining songs from the original Mean Girls soundtrack, appears in the ad as the new school coach, replacing the inept Coach Carr.
Fans of the film were quick to point out that the advertisement was short a few fan favourites, including Rachel McAdams, but were still delighted with the reunion nonetheless.
“This is iconic,” one X (formerly Twitter) user said. “Best commercial ever,” said another.
In interviews with Variety, the cast members said they were delighted to be reunited for the campaign. “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,” said Lacey Chabert, who played Gretchen Wieners in the film.
“It was so nice being back together after all these years. It was great catching up with everyone,” said Cady Heron actress Lindsay Lohan.
Walmart senior vice president of marketing, Courtney Carlson, said that the commercial will be unmissable across traditional advertising channels and social media. “Walmart is really known for Black Friday, and we don’t intend to lose that positioning,” said Carlson.
New ads, each focusing on a different cast member, will be rolling out every Wednesday leading up to Black Friday on November 24.
