With Halloween in the rearview mirror, companies are shifting their focus to another major commercial holiday: Black Friday. One ad in particular is serving up nostalgia by reuniting the cast of a movie some say is “so fetch.”
Walmart premiered a new Black Friday commercial Wednesday that features stars from “Mean Girls” and many references to the 2004 film. Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert each reprised their roles as members of the fictional North Shore High School’s popular clique, the “Plastics,” to show what the beloved characters are up to today.
“At North Shore, some things never change,” Lohan ruminates during the commercial’s opening. “On Wednesdays we still wear pink.”
While not-so-subtly showcasing many items that will be discounted during Walmart’s Black Friday promotions, the commercial also offers a look at the adult lives of the Plastics and their former classmates.
Karen Smith (Seyfried) appears to be a TV meteorologist — which makes sense considering her “talent” for predicting the weather — and Cady Heron (Lohan) is North Shore’s guidance counselor. Meanwhile, Gretchen Wieners (Chabert) has a daughter attending her alma mater, and she seems to be following in her mother’s footsteps.
Rajiv Surendra, who played mathlete Kevin Gnapoor, and Daniel Franzese, who acted as Cady’s less-popular pal Damian Leigh, also make cameos. Noticeably absent from the video is Rachel McAdams, who played queen of the Plastics Regina George in the film.
The commercial culminates in a winter talent show reminiscent of the infamous performance of “Jingle Bell Rock” from the movie. The ad’s tagline is “On Wednesdays, we shop deals,” as Walmart’s online Black Friday discounts begin Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The commercial will be part of a series, Variety reported.
“Mean Girls,” based on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes,” was written by Upper Darby-native Tina Fey. The film follows new girl Heron in her attempt to navigate high school cliques after being homeschooled for years.
Nearly 20 years after its release, the movie continues to infiltrate pop culture. This Halloween, several celebrities, including Hailey Bieber and Mariah Carey, paid homage to the franchise with their costumes.
The franchise has expanded through the years. Fey adapted the film into a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, which stopped in Philadelphia last month as part of a national tour. The Plastics also will return to the big screen when a movie based on the musical premieres in theaters Jan. 12.
Whether Lohan, Seyfried and Chabert will reunite for the movie musical is unclear, but the leading ladies have expressed interest in being part of it and even ideas for who they could play.
“All four of us are 100% into it,” Seyfried, an Allentown native, told Entertainment Tonight in February. “Maybe the mothers of our characters? That’s what I was thinking, but listen, I have not even seen the script.”
Walmart’s “Jingle Bell Rockin'” Black Friday ad can be viewed below: