If you have ever seen any foreign horror film then you already know that other countries have vastly different views at what they find horrifying. Even the films made and released in foreign countries are dramatically different from those conceived in the US. They have their own with unique style, storyline, and focus. However, I did not realize that these differences even extended to what is considered acceptable content for television advertising. If you have cable TV, or even Hulu, you have probably already seen this commercial:
This is a typical commercial in America for Halloween and it was cute, but not very threatening at all. Sure, the kids screamed when the headless horseman reared up after he was satisfied by a delicious Snickers bar, but it isn’t scary. But, watch the below commercial, from the exact same company for the exact same product on a Spanish Speaking channel on cable TV.
Now, answer me honestly, is that even the same commercial? Well, obviously not, but seriously? The styles are completely dissimilar and the Spanish language one is terrifying, even though this is from the exact same company. What are we selling here, oh, that’s right, Snickers! Not Halloween costumes or tickets to a haunted house but chocolate candy bars for children. Now, you guys know me, I am a huge pansy, so when I saw this at seven o’clock in the morning I squirmed in my bed and pulled my covers over my head.
I showed these two commercial to my family and I actually got an interesting answer. Both of my parents said that the scary commercial was more likely to be shown on TV when they were kids, but now Snickers would have probably gotten an angry response from parents and the general public about this if they had showed it on an English language network. I became curious and decided to seek out other commercials from my parents’ younger days (the ’80s) and they were right. Man, what has happened to us? Our movies, TV shows, and video games have almost climaxed at the peak of vulgarity, but we cannot stand a scary commercial? Ah, America. And why is it OK to air the scary version on a Spanish speaking channel but not on any of the English language networks?
