In addition to the puking ghost, the spots star a statuesque blue alien with a weakness for ice cream and a grizzled action hero with a high pain tolerance.

The characters pop up in innocuous everyday scenarios like backyard barbecues and idyllic neighborhoods, relaying a sense of urgency about their zeitgeisty flicks and noting their disappointment with anyone who skips the multiplex. 

The positioning aims to set Regal apart in a crowded category and “to shake us out of our collective at-home stupors, reminding us the way movies are meant to be seen,” according to Gordy Sang, co-founder and chief creative officer at Quality Meats.

“With so much content available at home, we’ve all become so stuck in our habits, many of which formed in Covid times or out of sheer laziness,” Sang told Adweek. “And no one’s really shining a light on what you’re missing when you don’t watch at the theaters.”

The spots, shot in a single day in Chicago, will also get digital and social distribution. Regal, which handles some of its creative in-house and continues to work with multiple outside agencies, has dabbled with connected TV this year but plans a sizable investment over the next several months.

In keeping with industry trends, Regal has traditionally run spots on its own screens, which “speaks to the people already in our audience,” Griffin said.

But the combo of creative and director, along with the crucial timing, compelled the chain to “reach way out beyond that,” Griffin said. “We’re a retail business, and we need to find a way to compel the customer to come to our location rather than a competitor’s and to have an out-of-home experience rather than staying home.”

CREDITS:

Agency: Quality Meats

Production Company: Story

Director:  Andy Richter

DP:  Andrew Wehde

Executive Producer:  Cliff Grant

Special FX Makeup: Kosart Studios 

Editorial/VFX/Color: 11 Dollar Bill

Sound: Floodgates Audio