As a leading TV Streaming Service in the U.S. we are committed to creating entertainment experiences for all audiences. As part of our promise to show up for the LGBTQ+ community year-round (instead of just during Pride month in June) we created a Halloween-themed drag variety show, Huluween Dragstravaganza, that launched in October.

To organically promote the show, while also bringing joy to the vast drag fandom, we created a host of engaging and hilarious bite-sized social content. Our goal with this 15 second Hunky Horseman animated piece was to appeal to drag fans and LGBTQ+ audiences with witty original content that captured a distinctly campy drag sensibility and made them laugh. And we wanted to do so using LGBTQ+ animation talent in order to give opportunities to up-and-coming artists who would bring their own unique ideas and capabilities to the project.

We open in a dark forest rendered in the vintage 60s style of Scooby Doo and Groovy Goolies - bold lines and simple shapes that transport us to a spooky, mysterious locale. A troupe of drag queens is pursued by a menacing, villainous horseman. Just when all hope is lost for our heroines, the rider’s cape is snagged on a branch, ripping his entire top off to reveal a hunky physique underneath. The ominous music abruptly stops. Closeup on the hunky horseman. Suddenly the tables are turned and the damsels in distress become lusty ladies ready to pounce. The queens pop up from their hiding place and give chase to the Adonis-on-horseback - who quite literally loses his head.

Hunky Horseman was one of our most successful pieces of content on social channels. The week it was posted, it accounted for nearly 20% of all social engagement for the brand and garnered an impressive 907% more engagements and 291% more comments than the YTD brand benchmarks.

It also drove organic conversation amongst fans. Though there were inevitably some users who objected to the piece because of its overt drag/LGBTQ content, we were happy to discover that overall sentiment was overwhelmingly positive. Fans were not only impressed with the artistry of the piece, they were also appreciative of our brand’s embrace of drag and our commitment to quality content with an LGBTQ lens. Some comments included: “kudos to whomever made and approved this” and “I actually want to watch this cartoon! Make it happen pls!”