BBC erects immersive Dracula billboards with bloody stakes and haunting shadows
To mark the arrival of Dracula to BBC screens, the team at BBC Creative has been busy constructing specially built posters that cry out with similar haunting wit as the anticipated TV series.
Created by the minds behind the highly-commended Sherlock series - Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat - Dracula was destined to be a fresh and unusual take on Bram Stoker's gothic novel.
Keen to lock into this hype the BBC has erected two billboards in both London and Birmingham that don't directly depict the count himself, but through a clever play of shadows and stakes, see him emerge as a haunting ghost.
During the day passers-by will notice that the billboards are stabbed with stakes - alluding to the action of vampire killers. Yet, at night a light at the side turns on, and viewers realise the stakes have been placed with the utmost intention so that their shadows recreate the face of the TV series' blood-thirsty villain.
To heighten the spooky billboard, beneath stands a 'break in case of vampires' box that contains a pointed wooden stake, ready to stab with.
Discussing the billboards, Olly Harnett, creative head at BBC Creative said: "Our campaign for Dracula leaves the audience in no doubt they can expect something fresh and unexpected from this extraordinary adaptation of the vampire classic.
"Our unique campaign is one of the most ambitious special builds we’ve ever undertaken – by day, a random assortment of stakes hammered into a billboard but by night, transformed, as the Count springs to life in the form of a looming shadow."
Adding to this, Chris Hooper, head of marketing at BBC One said: “Coming from the makers of Sherlock, this version of Dracula is laced with dark humour and rock star swagger. We wanted our campaign to reflect Steven and Mark’s fresh take on a classic character, so each element has been designed to surprise - from the cheeky campaign line, 'Bloody Legend', to the use of Lust For Life on the trailers, and this special build, which takes a playful, tongue-in-cheek approach to the legend.”
