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Bradley Whitford Stars in Gushers' Freaky 'FruitHead' Short
Mike Diva-directed flick screening at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
A word of warning to TV commercial directors—your past work can come back to haunt you as we see in FruitHead, a short horror film directed by Mike Diva for General Mills’ gushy fruit snack Gushers.
In the film—Bradley Whitford, the Emmy winner from The Handmaid’s Tale and The West Wing—plays the auteur responsible for a real Gushers ad that you may recall from the ’90s. It’s the one where a bunch of child actors have their heads turned into giant pieces of fruit.
Without giving too much away, something went horribly wrong during that shoot. And one of the child actors has been forced to live life as a FruitHead. As an adult, he sets out to take revenge upon the director he blames for his fate.
To promote this wonderfully weird short, which you can see on YouTube and the Gushers site, spooky oranges from the film will wander the streets around the Village Works Bookstore in NYC on Oct. 9.
Here, Stephanie Lensing, brand experience manager for Gushers at General Mills, and director Mike Diva, who is behind many of your favorite SNL shorts, discuss the making of “FruitHead,” which will also screen at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival this month.
MUSE: Why did you decide to make a film inspired by an ad from the ’90s?
Stephanie Lensing: It’s basically part of the brand’s lore at this point. It lives rent-free in people’s heads and recently resurfaced on social in time for Halloween. So, why not lean into it? This was a chance to tap into that nostalgia and reimagine it in a way that fits how fans engage with Gushers today: totally over-the-top, but still fun. The original ad already had that eerie energy. So turning it into a horror short with FruitHead just felt deliciously right.
What did Mike Diva bring to the project as director?
Stephanie Lensing: His creative world-building and ability to take something absurd and make it visually stunning is unmatched. Mike truly understands internet culture and the way people remix nostalgia today.
Mike, why did you want to cast Bradley, and how did you pique his interest in doing the film?
Mike Diva: He’s one of those unique actors who can play serious, sinister and comedic all at once, which is exactly what the film needed. When we approached him, I think he loved the idea that this was both a wild throwback and something genuinely cinematic that he could have fun with.
Why was it important or necessary for you to create a short film as opposed to a :30 second spot?
Stephanie Lensin: The concept deserved a full narrative, and we wanted to do the original ad justice by creating something equally bold for a new generation that loves nostalgia and horror films. A short film gave us room to tell a story, build tension and surprise fans.
Mike Diva: When Gushers first hit me up about making a horror short, I was excited but didn’t think they’d actually go all in on something this weird. But somehow, they were down to go completely off the rails. The idea of someone cursed to live as a FruitHead felt both hilarious and kind of tragic, which was the perfect mix. I wanted to shoot it like a real horror film and play it so straight that by the end, people would be like, “I can’t believe they actually did that.” That’s my favorite kind of commercial—the ones that make you wonder how it ever got approved.
Is this the first of many shorts or a one-off?
Stephanie Lensing: We love playing in this space. Gushers has always enjoyed being at the edges of the weird and unexpected as a brand, and this project opened up a ton of possibilities. So who knows? The “FruitHead” curse might live on.
