Rebuilding 1987 Target for the Stranger Things Universe

As the clock ticks towards the final showdown, and fans ready themselves for a last step back into the Upside Down, the ‘Stranger Things’ universe has been stroking imaginations everywhere via advertising channels.

Partnering with Netflix in the run-up to the concluding season, Target planned to be the ‘ultimate destination’ for exclusive products and a ‘blast-from-the-past’ physical and digital shopping experience. Central to the campaign is a spot set in a 1987 Target, brought to life by hungryman and Target’s in-house creative team in collaboration with the streamer.

Scott Swartz, vice president of creative at Target tells LBB, “While ‘Stranger Things’ lives in the realm of science fiction, it’s grounded in real cultural moments.” From the beginning, they saw an opportunity to bring Target into that world and take fans back to the ‘80s. “We wanted to imagine what a Target run might look like in Hawkins – and make Target feel like part of the ‘Stranger’ Things story itself.”

Ted Wheeler quickly became the “perfect character to lead that journey. It’s his first time at Target, so we get to see the store’s magic through his eyes.” And, Scott jokes, in true Target fashion, he goes in for one thing and comes out with much more.

For hungryman director Dan Opsal, “It was all about the script.” He credits the Target creative team for packing it with the kind of detail that meant he could picture the whole thing in his mind’s eye right away. He saw, “The CRT TV playing an ‘80s Target ad, the cheeseballs, the kitchen magnets clattering onto linoleum, Nintendo consoles, ice machines – these are the kinds of things that get me excited.” He fondly recalls going on Target trips with his mum in the late ‘80s, “so recreating that specific feeling was really important” to him.

But how do you go about balancing the authenticity of an intangible, fictional universe with the very specific nostalgia of an ‘80s Target store? For Scott, authenticity was everything. His team worked closely with their in-house archivists to research every detail from 1987, from vintage products and signage to store fixtures and packaging. At the same time, they collaborated with both the Netflix and Stranger Things teams to faithfully recreate the Wheelers’ living room and capture the mood and tone of Hawkins.

A fan of the show from the very beginning, Dan has been lucky enough to direct a few pieces of work that take place in the ‘Stranger Things’ world, so he has spent plenty of time being a student of its very specific brand of suspense and nostalgia. “A big part of the fun was playing with that rubber-band push-and-pull between Target nostalgia and ominous ‘Stranger Things’ suspense,” says Dan. “Going from a big wall of retro TVs to the Mind Flayer infiltrating the screens – from a display of Cheese Balls to a monstrous ooze dripping down the shelves, and the opportunity to rebuild the classic ‘FOOD AVENUE’ snack bar – was pretty rad.”

One of the biggest challenges would be building a 1987 Target entirely from scratch. The team found an empty store location and had to go about creating everything shelf by shelf. “Every chip bag, every boombox, every Nintendo game. It was nuts,” says Dan. “I have to give all of the credit to Zach Mathews, our production designer, who got as nerdy as me to make that place perfect.”

While the store was being resurrected, the team also had to bring back the Wheelers’ living room, which had already been dismantled after the final season wrapped. They’d considered using virtual production to create the store, but ultimately with the help of hungryman discovered a vacant retail space that matched both the scale and structure needed. “It became the ideal canvas to bring both Target and ‘Stranger Things’ to life,” adds Scott.

When it came to the collaboration between brand, production, and platform, he describes it as unusually fluid and seamless. The Target creative team alongside Netflix and through many brainstorming sessions, archival research, and writing workshops, nailed down the concept and script. And when director Dan joined, Scott says, “He immediately felt like an expansion of that creative team. Together, they brought our vision into production – developing storyboards, animatics, set designs, and casting. Every partner was equally committed to recreating 1987 Target with the care and authenticity ‘Stranger Things’ fans expect.”

For Dan, the same sense of shared ownership ran through every stage of the process. “It was a very passionate group; we all felt enormous responsibility to get everything exactly right. It’s the final season! Now’s not the time to screw it up!”

He’s quick to mention the impressive names on the crew list. “I was honoured to have Caleb Heymann as my cinematographer on this,” says Dan. “He has shot many episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ over the past few seasons and is an absolute expert on the look of the show.” On top of that, they brought in Skip Kimball from Company 3, the colourist for Stranger Things, to tune it all up, as well as the “amazing wizards” at RODEO for “drippy oozes and cracking floors.”

The quietly daft character pairing at the heart of the spot, Ted and Keith, feels like a perfect match, and something Dan couldn’t wait to bring to life . “Ted is king! I had a great time working with the great Joe Chrest on this. It’s about time we got that guy out of his lounge chair and into the aisles of Target.

“It was exciting to be able to finally film a scene between two iconic characters who have never shared the screen prior to this. The bone-dry comedic wit was palpable. You’re welcome, world.”

Fans can watch out for plenty of Easter eggs and hidden details which Scott promises are lurking in every frame; and it's those little nods to both Hawkins and Target history that make the ad feel like a genuine tribute to the worlds that inspired it.