Teeth-Baring Dracula Reveals Himself on Sinister Billboard Only When the Sun Sets

In a newly released advertisement for BBC One’s remaking of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the iconic vampire stays true to his vile nature and appears only at nightfall. During the day, the sinister promotion depicts blood dripping from stakes driven into the billboard, an allusion to theories about killing vampires. When the sun sets, a haunting shadow appears resembling Dracula with his mouth open and teeth bared, seemingly ready to prey on his next victim. To add to the darkly themed advertisement, creators have included a glass case complete with daggers below the billboard that reads, “in case of vampires, break glass.”

Dracula was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, who also worked on the classics Sherlock and Doctor Who. Chris Hooper, who is in charge of marketing at BBC One, noted in an interview with The Drum, that the advertising campaign wanted to revitalize the portrayal of the classic character. “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,” he said. If you’re in either Birmingham and London where the billboards are located, you might even encounter the creepy vampire in person. This play on shadows is also in a similar vein as artists Kumi Yamashita and Tim Noble and Sue Webster. (via My Modern Met)