The Strain – FX
Update: I’ve yet to see the commercial surface online, but I’ve been told by some that some rat commercials also aired during this week’s Walking Dead. It also aired on Spike during Bar Rescue, and Comedy Central during an episode of South Park. I think the closer we get to the release of The Strain, we will see more and more of these.
Last night during Ax Men we saw yet another rat commercial like we saw during an episode of the Walking Dead a few months back. The commercial featured people living life as normal and then bam! Rats everywhere. The only text in the commercials is a quick “He is Here.” At this point it is safe to assume anything with the “He is Here” branding is The Strain related.
Last time we were able to verify that the commercial was viral marketing for the new show coming to FX, The Strain. While we can’t say for certain that this new commercial is officially for The Strain, I would be shocked if it weren’t.
Now the first time we saw the commercial, it was during the Walking Dead. This makes sense as the Walking Dead audience would likely be the same group interested in a vampire show, like The Strain.
The next appearance of the rat commercial was during the Super Bowl. OK, the Super Bowl isn’t really relevant to vampires, but hey, it’s the Super Bowl. Practically every possible fan of everything was watching, so a commercial there also makes sense.
And now this. The latest rendition of the rat commercial airs on the History Channel, during Ax Men. Because you know, that’s their primary audience. Talk about money wasted. We’re talking a viral marketing campaign, for a show about vampires. Not a marketing campaign for a discount flannel shirt store.
I haven’t been able to find the commercial yet to really break it down, but here’s what we know:
- The commercial starts with people living their everyday lives.
- Rats come running out of nowhere.
- Everyone freaks out.
Pretty much like every commercial for The Strain we’ve seen so far. No branding, and nothing that stands out to the naked eye.
II’ll be updating this article when we can find the video and analyze it further.