In a brilliant move to kick off the Black Friday shopping frenzy, Walmart has managed to bring back the iconic cast of “Mean Girls” in a series of ads that have sent fans into a frenzy. Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacey Chabert, among others, have returned to reprise their roles, this time as adults, almost 20 years after the film was released, and it’s got everyone talking.
The cast of “Mean Girls” bring the high school drama to a whole new level as they gush about the upcoming deals at Walmart, much like teenagers gossiping about the latest school happenings.
Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, kicks things off with a voiceover, saying, “At North Shore, some things never change. On Wednesdays, we still wear pink.”
Gretchen Wieners, played by Lacey Chabert, now a mom, pulls up in her convertible to pick up her daughter, who seems to be one of the newest generation of Plastics. The eye-rolling teenager isn’t too thrilled, but Gretchen insists, “Get in, sweetie, we’re going deal shopping!”
Cady continues her voiceover by saying, “But now we shop Walmart Black Friday deals,” As Gretchen drives away quipping, “Buckle up!” as the shot shows the number plate on the car which says, “Strudlgrl”. with “The Shopping State” above, and, “Carpe fetchus diem” below.
Karen Smith, portrayed by Amanda Seyfried, still has a knack for stating the obvious. On the football field, she takes on her new role and quips, “Karen Smith here with the weather, and there’s a 30% chance it’s already Wednesday.”
Kevin Gnapoor, played by Rajiv Surendra, now a dad, maintains his unique style and tells his child, “Don’t let the haters stop you from doing your thang, Kevin Jr.”
Continuing the voiceover, she says, “Even as the guidance counsellor, I was still getting schooled.” A humorous scene follows with two students as she blurts out, “Gruel!” Confused, the students inquire, “What’s gruel?” Cady quickly dismisses it, saying, “It’s nothing.”
At Gretchen’s extravagant home, she helps her daughter and friends film a dance video while trying to make her iconic catchphrase go viral. “Oh! This is going to be so fetch!” she exclaims, only to embarrass her daughter, who retorts, “Stop trying to make fetch happen, Mom! It’s still not going to happen.”
The iconic “sex education” scene gets a makeover, with Missy Elliott taking the role of the new female gym coach, educating students about the new Walmart deals. “If you have Walmart Plus, you will get three-hour early access to Black Friday deals. Deals, D-E-A-L-S,” Missy says, emphasizing it on the chalkboard, much like Coach Carr in the original film.
The voiceover by Cady continues, stating, “The deals were coming out of us like word vomit.” The students of North Shore High School share their enthusiasm. One student starts by saying, “Walmart’s Black Friday deals are flawless.” Another references Gretchen’s daughter by saying, “Those deals are hot! They might even be hotter than Amber Wieners.” Then a female student adds to the enthusiasm by saying, “I saw Miss Heron buy Apple Airpods and Legos, so I bought Apple Airpods and Legos.”
Damien Leigh, played by Daniel Franzese, is now in charge of the Winter Talent Show and waves at Cady, Gretchen, and Karen. We then see Gretchen tell her two other children who are sitting next to her, “to take that one.” We can see that her son is holding a Barbie. Gretchen then exclaims to Cady, “I am such a good mom.” – we completely agree, toys are toys, and all children should be allowed to play with the toys that they want, regardless of gender, and Cady agrees by saying, “I’m impressed”.
Karen then jumps in by saying, “And I’m Karen”, to which Cady replies, “We know.” Gretchen then proudly records her daughter’s performance of “Jingle Bell Rock”, while Cady continues her voiceover by saying, “While girl world was at peace,..” The show then takes an unexpected turn as one of the girls kicks over a Skullcandy Barrel Party Speaker, as Cady finishes her voiceover sentence, “Deal world was just getting started.”
Instead of the Burn Book causing a stir with cruel gossip, this time, high school students are rioting over the new Black Friday deals, and Cady and Damian find themselves caught up in the mayhem in the hallway.
One teen exclaims, “Black Friday deals start next Wednesday? Oh my God, that’s like in one week!” as they read a printout of the sale, reflecting the excitement building up for the big shopping event.
The advert ends with an open notebook with a toaster strudel on a plate – that’s had a bite taken out of it (in reference to Gretchen’s father who apparently invented it in 1985) – and the words “Something fetch is coming next Wednesday,” with a video clip underneath of Gretchen dropping Amber off at school. Looks like Gretchen will be taking over on Wednesday with a Fetch commercial.
Watch the Walmart Mean Girls reunion advert here:
Courtney Carlson, Walmart’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, emphasises the retailer’s commitment to retaining its status as a Black Friday powerhouse, by stating, “Walmart is really known for Black Friday, and we don’t intend to lose that positioning.” Walmart is pulling out all the stops to keep its shoppers engaged during the annual holiday shopping event, and this unmissable campaign is set to do just that.
The commercials are set to launch every Wednesday, a nod to the iconic “wear pink on Wednesdays” rule from the movie, with a new member of the cast appearing in each ad and social media post. The anticipation is building as fans eagerly await these reunions, seeing their beloved characters back on screen.
Daniel Franzese, who brings back Damian Leigh, expresses the excitement felt by the cast. “We think fans are going to be super excited to see us after all these years. I know we are excited for everyone to see what we’ve all been up to.”
Lindsay Lohan also shares her delight in reuniting with the cast, saying, “It was wonderful to spend the day with Amanda and Lindsay. It was so much fun to reminisce and be together again after all these years.”
Unfortunately, one member of the original cast was noticeably absent leading to the big question, “Where is Regina George?” The main mean girl, played by Rachel McAdams, is nowhere in sight, According to an insider source at Page Six, “Rachel McAdams didn’t want to do it.” We’re happy to presume that Regina George moved away to live her best mean girl life.
The Page Six insider continued by saying, “They were all offered it. But the three of them loved being together for their reunion. They had a great time talking about being moms, and it was definitely a loss not having Rachel there.”
Also notably absent is Jonathan Bennett, who played Cady’s love interest Aaron Samuels. Lately, he’s been super busy being the host of Food Network’s Battle of the Decades and Halloween Wars, not to mention appearing in films “Fire Island” and “The Plus One”, as well as upcoming films “The Cabin at the Lake” and “Day Six”, plus he’s rumoured to star in “Chagrin”.
Walmart’s previous success with a cast reunion strategy, featuring the “Office Space” cast in 2022, has only fueled the excitement around this year’s “Mean Girls” revival. The challenge of keeping the campaign under wraps added to the excitement, as a leaked picture of the cast sent the internet into a speculative frenzy.
Walmart is making fetch happen this Black Friday season, and fans are ready to shop and reminisce with the cast of “Mean Girls”. The countdown to Black Friday, scheduled for November 24, and Cyber Monday, set for November 27, is on, and Walmart is leading the way with these fantastic offers and prices. Don’t miss out on this blast from the past that’s taking Black Friday to a whole new level.
