This blood-soaked film might scare you into taking all your PTO

‘The Holiday Reaper’ from WeRoad highlights a monstrous entity that thrives on unclaimed annual leave time

Published On
Oct 29, 2024

Editor's Pick

Few things are as scary in this world as losing paid time off. Forfeiting vacation time? Horrifying. To illustrate how bone-chilling lost annual leave can be, WeRoad, the U.K. travel platform, launched a horror film trailer on the issue created by independent creative agency Dude London. 

“The Holiday Reaper” features a monstrous entity that thrives on unclaimed leave. In the film, a protagonist named Sophie faces terrifying consequences of neglecting her annual leave, including endless work hours, being chained to her desk, disgusting office lunches and more. 

The frightful film comes as WeRoad found that in 2022 and 2023, less than 40% of the U.K. workforce took all of their annual leave allowance.  A recent survey conducted by the brand also revealed a significant portion of workers are unclear about their company’s policies regarding unused vacation days, potentially leading to lost holiday time and increased workplace stress.

Also see: 16 creative campaigns to know about today

“When we discovered how many annual leave days were going unused each year, we were truly horrified,” said Tomás Gianelli O’Ryan, creative director at Dude London. “We hope The Holiday Reaper scares people enough to go OOO before it’s too late.”

The campaign also features wild postings in sites around London and Manchester. The campaign taps into ’80s-style movie posters and filming to convey its message. 

“You know those classic slasher films where teenagers make questionable decisions? Well, not using your holiday allowance is basically the workplace equivalent!” said Justyna Chlopecka, marketing manager at WeRoad U.K. “Our ‘Holiday Reaper’ campaign channels the classic ’80s horror movie, but instead of running from a masked killer, our protagonist is running from the scariest thing of all—watching their annual leave vanish into the void.”

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Credits

Date
Oct 29, 2024
Client :
WeRoad
Agency :
DUDE London
CMO :
Fabio Bin
Global Head of Brand :
Margherita Galluzzo
Marketing Manager :
Justyna Chlopecka
Creative Team :
Lorenzo Sala
Creative Team :
Anna Harvey
Creative Team :
Eugenio Guidi
Executive Creative Director :
Curro Piqueras Parra
Creative Director :
Tomás Gianelli O’Ryan
Creative :
Joe Ribton
Creative :
Sophie Becker
Client Director :
Hamish Day
Senior Account Manager :
Adriana Sabia
Head of Production :
Francesca Granata
Production :
Spindle
Director :
LIAKH
Executive Producer :
Mayling Wong
Producer :
Phelan Moeller
Producer :
Edwin Brawn
Director's Assistant :
Sophia Kawyani
1st AD :
Paolo De Battista
2nd AD :
Hollie Burton
DOP :
Adam Barnett
1st AC :
Lydia Stott
2nd AC :
Patrycja Cygan
Gaffer :
Leo Olesker
Spark :
Jazz Bhalla
Spark Trainee :
Edmund Bishop
Production Designer :
Macy Trieu-Dingle
Art Assistant :
Sammy Webster
Costume Stylist :
Innes Woo
Hair & Make Up Artist :
Maise Boyd
Sound Mixer :
Michael Mcnulty
Gallowglass :
Omobolaji Moses Oladipo
Edit :
Tim Swaby
Grade :
Dominic Phipps
Grade Producer :
Kerri Aungle
Grade :
Company 3
Sound Designer :
Hugo Ellingham
Sound House :
Brother Music
VFX :
B.art
VO Artist :
Anthony Marantz
VO Artist :
Louise Provo
Cast :
Olga Solo
Cast :
Amanda York
Cast :
Joseph Bushell
Cast :
Isadora Bacon

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Project Type