29/10/18 - FANTA'S SUPERSIZED SPIDER SHOCKS LONDONERS
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Londoners were given the Halloween heebie-jeebies today as a terrifying giant creepy
crawly was spotted prowling the streets of the capital.
Commuters and tourists experienced arachnophobia as a metre-wide spider was seen scuttling past shops and supermarkets, lurking under bridges and pouncing joggers and cyclists in parks across the city.
Hidden cameras recorded reactions, as it was unleashed on the public and jumped out on passers-by. The eight-legged monster prank was staged by drinks brand Fanta to promote their Halloween campaign.
The supersized animatronic arachnid, capable of scuttling at top speeds of 15mph,
features a set of prominent fangs, glowing beady eyes and hisses upon approaching its prey.
The animatronic creepy crawly, controlled by a remote operator, comes equipped with a winch pulley system which allows the spider to plunge at dramatic speeds from trees and bridges using a web to anchor itself. The spook-tacular spider took a team of special effects artists four weeks to complete.
The transformation of the mechanical monster, created in Fanta’s laboratory, was
inspired by a concoction of a hairy Tarantula, an Australian Funnel-Web Spider and the world’s most deadly arachnid - the Brazilian Wandering Spider.
Having being tricked, victims of the prank were treated to one of Fanta’s new limited
edition Halloween flavours; Blood Orange Zero and Pink Grapefruit Zero.
New research of 2,000 British teenagers specially commissioned by Fanta, reveals that nearly half (45%) of teens look forward to Halloween more than Christmas
Preparation is key, as a third (33%) of young adults start planning their costumes,
perfecting their spooky make-up and decorating the house for Halloween over a month in advance.
Almost six in ten (58%) say online bloggers and Instagram influencers will be their
biggest inspiration for costume themes this year, while the average British young adult
will snap 24 Halloween ‘selfies’; a shocking 200% more than usual!
Spiders, along with bats and rats, have become an essential feature of Halloween street decoration – with doors, gates and bushes transformed with giant webs to delight trick or treaters on October 31 st .
Rosalind Brown, Marketing Manager at Fanta GB says: “Halloween season is the
perfect time to pull pranks and get in the trick or treat spirit, so we unleashed a giant
animatronic spider on the unsuspecting public. Spiders are a symbol of Halloween, so
we transformed every arachnophobe’s worst nightmare into reality to celebrate the
launch of our new Halloween flavours; Blood Orange Zero Sugar and Pink Grapefruit
Zero Sugar.”
- ENDS –
Fanta’s Flavour Election winning drinks are available at participating retailers
For more information please contact Alice Trost on alice.trost@taylorherring.com/ 07771 362215
Fanta Spider - London - 29th Oct 2018
Londoners were given the Halloween heebie-jeebies today as a supersized animatronic spider was unleashed on commuters and tourists across the city. Hidden cameras recorded reactions as it jumped out on passers-by. The eight-legged monster prank was staged by drinks brand Fanta to promote their new Halloween flavour range. Photo. Issue date: Monday 29th October 2018. The creepy crawly, controlled by a remote operator, took a team of special effects artists four weeks to complete and was inspired by the world’s creepiest spider species including a hairy Tarantula, an Australian Funnel-Web Spider and the Brazilian Wandering Spider. The animatronic arachnid comes equipped with a winch pulley system which allows the spider to plunge at dramatic speeds from trees and bridges using a web to anchor itself. Photo credit should read: Fanta
