Situation:

Netflix was the most Oscar nominated studio in 2021 and yet, because of Disney-owned ABC, we were not able to buy a spot during the show. We needed a breakthrough idea to cut through the red tape and show a different side of movie fandom that the broadcast ignores.

Brief:

On industry’s biggest night let’s remind movie fans, on the platforms where the conversation is actually happening, that fans are the most important part of the movies.

Objectives:

Remind a global audience of film fans what it was like to be a kid in love with movies.

Differentiate Netflix from the rest of the established film industry.

Breakthrough the Awards show noise.

We partnered with the Ikorodu Bois from Nigeria to recreate 4 of Netflix’s most popular trailers, all the while creating a mini-documentary about their uniquely relatable film fandom along the way.

For us it was about telling their story, but also leveraging them as a totem to celebrate global movie fans for the important role they play — For watching, loving, discussing, and even recreating our movies. For inspiring Netflix, its filmmakers and talent every day to make more and for reminding us that at our core, we’re fans, too.

The Ikorodu Bois have an addictive, do-it-yourself version of fan expression. In our authentic, playful and heartwarming non-fiction doc set in Lagos, Nigeria, we see a fabric of their funniest movie moments mixed with the exuberance of them creating them.

Leaning into the Ikorodu Bois and the Fans Make The Movies message made strategic sense for Netflix as a brand.

We lean into nostalgia to pull at heartstrings.

In seeing the Ikorodu boys channel their creativity into remakes/tributes of their favorite movies, we see the joy and innocence of being a young fan.

We celebrate global storytelling.

As the industry struggles to accept new distribution models, we prioritize reaching and inspiring a new generation of global movie fans.

We bring unexpected joy.

During a relentless pandemic, the Ikorodu Bois were the joy the world needed. 2020 was also the year that Ikorodu Bois came into spotlight after Netflix and the Russo Brothers rewarded them with a generous package of film equipment after making a trailer for Extraction.

Implementation:

We partnered with Wondros to mount a complicated production. With Netflix employees working from home, Wondros in a Hollywood production office and a nimble crew from Black Verse on the ground in Nigeria, we did impossible and captured authentic life in Lagos for the young filmmakers.

The 90 sec documentary served as the campaign centerpiece, which also included a cutdown for TV, 4 trailers created by the Bois (Army of the Dead, Da 5 Bloods, The Old Guard, Thunder Force) and a viral reaction video and surprise Zoom call from Zach Snyder.

Timeline:

Early March 2021 through April 23, live date.

Placement:

Leaned into the A/V across social, digital, TV along with OOH in Times Square.

Scale:

Media spend was targeted towards US-only entertainment enthusiasts during the Oscars weekend, but the videos and story spread to a worldwide audience with huge goodwill coming from our fans in Nigeria.

Describe:

The campaign generated 86MM paid impressions across social, digital, TV and OOH. Organically, the Army of the Dead videos generated ~8M Impressions in the first 24 hrs.

Engagement:

Zach Snyder, Octavia Spencer and Director Gina Prince-Blythewood all engaged. Fans were overwhelmingly positive, with many celebrating the creativity of the Ikorodu Bois and Netflix for giving recognition. Some echoed the sentiment of Fans make the movies to remember their own movie-loving childhood.

Impact:

Fans Make The Movies was an important moment for Netflix, informing our fan-centric brand positioning and inspiring more fan-led campaigns. For the Ikorodu Bois themselves, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a global moment and see their faces in Times Square. For every movie fan and filmmaker, it was the reminder we hoped for, that we all were once kids in love with the movies.