Was January 27th the end of Mayogate?
Long answer, not exactly as it's a prominent part of something bigger.
Before we continue here, the obligated PSA (jcf, why do we have to keep doing this?): I'm doing this for fun, following trails of evidence that on their own are ridiculous, but that are overwhelming in quantity for me to pretend they are not pointing to conformitygate. Stay at your own risk.
What happened on January 27th?
This is the day Hellmann's Superbowl commercial was released.
First of all, I didn't even know it was a thing to release these commercials before the game, and only learned after some reading that this is so they can show a longer version than the "official" one that only allows 30 seconds. At first glance, the spot has nothing to do with stranger things, which was a bummer... for like 3 seconds.
People, I'm firmly planted on this bus and I'm not going down without a fight. I still believe ST is buried up to the neck in mayonnaise.
Simply put, it is a musical parody of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline, turned Sweet Sandwich Time, starring Andy Samberg and Elle Fanning.
The whole thing starts in a ridiculous note, something expected if Andy Samberg is involved, but the longer it goes on it gets uncomfortable. Meal Diamond, Samberg's character, seems desperate despite the cheerful song and lyrics, while everyone around him is oblivious. At first, the other commensals at the dinner look him weirdly but as the song progresses they join in the singing and seem completely absorbed. Really?
Am I being biased? Definitely, but as usual, there are too many details that shouldn't add up. In particular, there are three lyrics that make me think of different aspects of ST.
I live in the walls
Some times I wonder who my parents are
I've never been outside
The first one immediately makes me think of the wall surrounding Hawkins, which depending on how long the illusion was going could still be where the kids (Mike, in case the whole season happened inside his head) are actually kept.
The second and third are basically the experience Jane and the rest of the children at the Hawkins lab went through at the hands of Brenner.
Then, at the end of the song he tells this to Elle Fanning (the only character who seemed to realize the oddity of the situation):
If you marry me the curse is broken and I can leave
So now there's a curse involved that can be broken via marriage?
I know marriage doesn't always involve love in real life, but in many stories it goes hand in hand, and what is it that frees people from Camazotz? Love.
In addition, this is the classic Beauty and the Beast story line, which may I remind you made an appearance in the inspiration board.
Samberg and Fanning are wearing faded Byler colors, which could be attributed to Hellmann's graphic identity, but also work as the perfect excuse to use those colors without seeming suspicios, right @nuffit?
This blue and yellow lighting first made me think of Rink O' Mania, but yesterday as I rewatched bits of S4 I found the scene where Chrissy is killed by Vecna
There's something eery about that blue light in places with cursed people
An exit sign? I'm a freaking labrat (call out to Murray) taking part in the most elaborate social experiment of all times at this point. However, take this last one with a mountain of salt because it's not part of the spot itself but a review of it, which it's more likely AI generated, but it still intrigues me that the sign was added. Btw, there's something suspicious about the review channel but I got too much in my plate right now to go check.
Now, trying to be as objective as possible with this thing, I went to check previous Hellmann's Superbowl spots to see if there is an ongoing theme going on here. It appears to be against food waste, which doesn't align with this year's, and while the tone is comedic, it doesn't reach the level of Meal Diamond's song, in my very humble opinion.
As for how the spot is perceived, I found various articles, but this is the one that caught my attention the most. Doesn't this sound extremely exaggerated? What backstory? This is his life's great calling?
Again, it could be attributed to Samberg, but note the different tone in Variety's article between the Hellmanns spot and the Rocket + Redfin's one (this without considering Mr. Rogers song has also being pointed out to be conformitygate related).
At first I wondered about the choice of Sweet Caroline to parody as I don't remember it ever being mentioned or used in the show. I was named after this song, so I'm pretty sure I would remember if it had played even for a second at some point. It wasn't, as far as my research went, but I found there was a group of people who claimed it was used in S3 EP4 when the flayed gather to create the meatflayer, but was later changed for We'll meet again by Vera Lyn.
So, either there was actually a change in preparation for this moment, or the ST team prove once again they are aware of the theories circulating the fandom and this was a nod to that. I'm inclined to believe the latter.
A vinyl containing a single that will play during the big game? During the last quarter? Do I need to add anything at all?
In conclusion, I still believe in Mayogate, but considering other small details I found in other Superbowl spots (which I hope to cover before Sunday), Green Day's cover of Heroes and Gatorade's massive involvement, this is proving to be a huge team effort.
This is all for today. Thanks for your attention.