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Few people have ever been better suited to the role of Unofficial Halloween Mascot than Vincent Price. Distinct voice and reputation for creepy characters and macabre surroundings aside, there was always something disarming about he that he cultivated. He could easily slink into a mad scientist's lab, but he could also be right at home in your living rooms, on Johnny Carson's couch, or even selling you cleaning products.
Yes, Vincent Price was not only a Master of the Macabre and one of the single most endearing celebrities of the 20th century. He was also a spokesman for Tilex, because he just didn't want you to have to deal with those damned mildew nightmares.
In the final years of his life, Price started appearing more and more in commercials for various products, as he slowed down on film work and concentrated more on voice roles. These commercials included everything from credit cards to candy bars, and the best were invariably the ones that leaned into his fame as a horror film star.
Enter Tilex, that stuff you spray in the shower that makes your bathroom smell like chemicals with nostril-burning intensity for days at a time. In the 1980s, Price stepped in as spokesman for the company, and Tilex rolled out an ad campaign with loads of macabre monster movie charm. Sometimes paired with a hunchback, sometimes with a lab assistant, and occasionally with a frustrated housewife, Price promised that Tilex would get ride of your "mildew nightmares" and save you loads of time in ads that ranged from pure Corman Gothic to German Expressionism in their visuals. At one point, he's even saying lines from Frankenstein while he's dressed as Dracula!
I love absolutely everything about these ads. I love how game Price is to ham it up, I love his co-stars, I love that these are actual sets built by humans instead of what would certainly be CGI now. Most of all, I love them as a reminder of the kind of movie star Vincent Price was. He knew exactly what we expected of him, which meant in key moments he could break with those expectations for maximum effect. It also meant that he could happily have a little fun with himself, and us, whether he was making a movie or selling a shower cleaner.
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