Cast your mind back a few years to 2017. Do you recall seeing a set of television commercials featuring He-Man and Skeletor? Yes? No? Maybe, but you thought it was nothing more than a fever dream conjured up by Orko?
Well, it was no dream. It happened. Two iconic characters from Masters of the Universe joined forces for a couple of commercials. Let me help jog your memory.
The commercials aired in the UK; advertised the services of the price comparison website, MoneySupermarket; and saw legendary adversaries He-Man and Skeletor sharing the screen and bustin’ out some moves to a couple of belting ’80s tunes. You’re starting to remember now, aren’t you?
Well, while you begin to pluck the memories from the back of your mind, let me serve up a little info to help you out.
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Fame and fortune
The adverts were created by Mother-London, and were designed to promote British price comparison website, MoneySupermarket. The aim was to convince television viewers to visit the website, by harnessing the almighty power of ‘80s nostalgia!
Both adverts saw the two lead characters from Masters of the Universe celebrating after they saved money on their insurance. And if busy warriors such as He-Man and Skeletor could find the time to save money, then it would be a breeze for anyone else.
The first commercial focused primarily on Skeletor. The ad – directed by Fredrik Bond – saw ol’ bonehead take to the streets to shake his booty, while Irene Cara’s hit song, ‘Fame‘ played out in the background.
He-Man appeared briefly in the advert, but this one was all about Skeletor and his sheer delight on being (supposedly) cash rich! Presumably all those bills at Snake Mountain were starting to add up, but with the help of MoneySupermarket, Skeletor was able to bag some cash to spend on his friends… or most likely himself.
Let’s be honest, Skeletor isn’t wasting money on the likes of Beast Man or Trap-Jaw now, is he?. All that extra dough was definitely going straight in his pocket.
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Living life to the full
The second commercial arrived a little later in the year and this time made room for both He-Man and Skeletor. Commercial No.2 was directed by The Bobbsey Twins.
In this advert, He-Man turned up at a bar, seemingly for a fight with his fearsome foe. However, a scrap was never on the cards and the situation quickly transformed into a dance routine.
Running two-minutes in length, this advert played homage to the movie, Dirty Dancing (1987) by featuring the song, ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life‘ by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. The commercial also included the movie’s iconic ‘dance lift’.
In a standout moment, towards the end of the advert, He-Man and Skeletor take inspiration from Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to show how awesome they are on the dance floor. Moves are made, hips are swayed, and joy is certainly had by all.
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Epic adversaries
The He-Man/Skeletor ‘epic’ commercials were played entirely for laughs, and were great fun to watch – especially for Masters of the Universe fans. The commercials aired quite frequently in the UK throughout 2017 and into 2018, and were backed by a print advertising campaign which saw the characters appear in tie-in newspaper adverts.
The power of nostalgia is of course a very influential thing, but the power of He-Man and Skeletor is something else entirely. They might seem like never-ending adversaries, but even these two know how important it is to save money.
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Thank you for taking the time to check out this post about He-Man and Skeletor on It’s A Stampede!. For more nostalgia-inducing posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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