Zombie Fans Track Viral 2000s K-Fee Commercial Undead's Real Identity: Makeup Vs. CGI Effect, Which is Scarier?

The zombie in K-Fee's viral commercial is one of the most popular advertisements in 2000. However, unlike other ads that show amazing effects or unique storylines, this one targets your fear.

Which is More Scary? Zombie Makeup or CGI? What the Real Person in Viral K-Fee Commercial Looks Like
Jesus Pellot, dressed as a zombie, poses for a photo at the 14th St. station before heading to the 41st Annual Village Halloween Parade October 31, 2014 in New York City. Thousands of costumed New Yorkers gather every year at the parade, which starts on Spring Street before heading more than a mile along Sixth Avenue. Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images

The popular K-Fee commercial is one of the ads that started the jump-scare trend. According to Lad Bible's latest report, the heart-stopping advertisement goes from relaxing ambiance to suddenly a terrifying video in less than 20 seconds.

The goal of K-Fee is to show that its coffee product has enough caffeine that will make you awake all night. The ad's zombie was the one that made this product very popular. And now, a YouTube channel finally found the real person who played the undead of the viral commercial.

The real identity of K-Fee's zombie

The YouTube channel Rhys Productions 11 released a 43-minute documentary for K-Fee's zombie advertisement. In the video, it was revealed that the guy behind the viral commercial was Brad Johnson. He said that his friend is the cinematographer for K-Fee's ad, which is why he was the one that got picked as the zombie.

Which is More Scary? Zombie Makeup or CGI? What the Real Person in Viral K-Fee Commercial Looks Like
Participants take part at the Zombie Walk Duesseldorf along the Rheinuferpromenade on September 6, 2015 in Duesseldorf, Germany. A zombie walk is an organized public gathering of people who dress up in zombie costumes. Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images

Before Johnson became the viral undead in the 2000s, his friend tried to use puppets to create scary objects. However, his plan didn't work.

"We were in LA and were shooting at a studio because they shot all the other stuff before we got there. We just shot our stuff in front of a green screen," said Johnson via Rhys Productions 11's documentary.

"Yeah, so we went to the studio, sat for about four hours in makeup," he added.

Johnson said that it was supposed to be a little gig. He added that his cinematographer friend called them to shoot the advertisement.

The zombie guy also explained that he already watched some similar pranks in the popular cartoon series "The Simpsons." Johnson admitted that he always wanted to prank people and give them a good jump-scare.

But, he still didn't receive that much attention, although the ad garnered millions of views--and this was during the time when the internet is not as accessible to everyone.

This just shows that the zombie makeup was really effective back in the days since people didn't recognize him underneath all the prosthetics. And now, various companies are using CGI effects instead of makeup or practical effects. But is CGI really more effective?

CGI vs. makeup effects

Back in the day, various production companies prefer using practical or makeup effects since they look more realistic. But, since technology is improving every year, most production businesses are now using CGI, including Hollywood.

Although CGI outputs may look promising, The Los Angeles Film School said that some industry watchers said that overuse of CGI could greatly affect a scene being filmed.

However, actors can easily move around when CGI is used. Since makeup is pretty heavy when it piles up on your body, this makes it hard for you to move around. However, practical effects usually look more realistic than CGI. To fix this, most companies are now combining the two to make an excellent output. This can be seen in various movies such as "The Avatar," "Jurassic World," and many more. You can click here for more details.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

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