It’s 3 am. You’re a new mum, feeding the baby. You’re feeding you by scrolling. The baby is getting nourished. You’re getting harmed.

In the first US campaign from Napper, a Swedish baby sleep app, this is shown in a familiar scenario. A new mum scrolls through post after perfect post. With each one, she changes a little more, until she’s flawless, dressed head to toe in red, eyes locked on the screen. She’s not a monster. She’s the “better” version of herself the feed keeps selling her. But it’s not real.

The work doesn’t promote the product. In fact, the brand barely appears in the film. Instead, it uses the Halloween format to put a quiet, everyday horror on screen – comparing yourself to the perfect moms in your feed at 3am.

The villain is the feed, never the mum. The message is “This Halloween, don’t let the feed fool you.”

The idea builds on research by Ciera Kirkpatrick at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, showing that idealised portrayals of motherhood on social media leave new mums more anxious and envious.

The film was made in-house at Napper together with Norberg Pictures.