Masked ‘Friday the 13th’ villain Jason says face masks don’t have to be scary in PSA

A man with an old hockey mask sits on the steps of a building in a busy city when a voiceover comes on.

“It’s not easy. The mask kind of makes people uncomfortable,” the voice says in a video posted on Instagram, as people shy away from getting in his path. The voice is meant to be Jason Voorhees, the masked villain of the old horror film “Friday the 13th.”

It’s a new public service announcement from Ogilvy Health that aims to get people, especially young people, to put on a mask when they go out in public, according to an Instagram post from the company. It uses the pop culture reference to reach younger audiences, “who may feel invincible to #Covid19,” the post says.

The viewer is taken on a journey with Jason through New York - trying to ride a subway, failing to hail a cab, trying to pet a dog in Central Park. He’s avoided at every turn, presumably for his reputation as a murderer, but also because his mask isn’t sufficient for keeping him from spreading the coronavirus, Today said.

“Just trying to fit in - I know the whole chainsaw thing, I get it. But the thing is, behind the mask, I’m just a regular guy,” Jason says.

At the end of the video, Jason sits alone on a bench when a little girl approaches him. She hands him a medical mask, and he places it over his hockey mask. He looks back at the little girl and they exchange approving nods.

The video closes with the words, “Wearing a mask can be scary. Not wearing one can be deadly. Wear a mask, New York.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Masked ‘Friday the 13th’ villain Jason says face masks don’t have to be scary in PSA."