For generations, TV and film video game adaptations have fallen short of fan expectations, creating a unique challenge for The Last of Us – but HBO had both the creative and strategy to break the curse, win over the fandom, and reach broad audiences.

HBO needed to craft a global experiential campaign designed to court the existing fanbase, spark interest among broad entertainment enthusiasts, and ultimately drive tune-in for The Last of Us.

In the world of The Last of Us, the Fireflies are a symbol of hope in the fight for humanity. For each activation, HBO created a unique experience that takes guests on a journey from darkness into light and immerses them into the dangerously beautiful, overgrown world of The Last of Us, delivering on the Firefly mantra and the show’s North Star, “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.”

At Brazil Comic-Con, HBO recreated an iconic location from the show and gave fans flashlights to delve into the darkness firsthand and witness the apocalyptic results of the cordyceps outbreak. With a screening activation, a Firefly outpost sought to recruit viewers to join their cause. Additionally, influencer kits with Carhartt swag were sent to key figures and vocal viewers.

HBO sought to create a global campaign that cemented The Last of Us as a must-see, cultural phenomenon, prioritizing in-world, IRL, physical, and AR-based experiential activations designed to immerse audiences.

The network deployed visceral, iconic, and cohesive experiential creative and activations, all filtered through the creative positioning, “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light,” a quote that speaks to the series’ themes.

Partnerships with PlayStation and Naughty Dog established credibility with fans of the IP, designed to turn superfans of the game into evangelists, fueling a series-specific fandom early on and driving broad appeal for the adaptation.

By leveraging the HBO/Max brands’ global social, digital, and streaming ecosystem alongside series, partner, and talent social accounts, each beat was buoyed by a 175M-follower footprint, driving awareness, viewership, and engagement. This proved fans were ready and willing to immerse themselves in the world of the show.

Overall, HBO’s global campaign spanned 200+ territories and leveraged owned, earned, paid, traditional, digital, social, experiential, and influencer tactics, with each phase, beat, and piece of content designed to immerse new and existing fans in the epic world of The Last of Us.

The campaign began with asset drops tied to TLOU Day 2021 and 2022 as well as Summer Games Fest 2022, building trust with the core fandom. The spread continued globally at Brazil Comic-Con with an in-world activation and panel, which laid the creative blueprint for immersive experiences around the world, including Italy, Spain and Indonesia.

HBO captured superfans and broad global audiences with the world premiere in Los Angeles attended by talent and influencers, immersive tastemaker screenings in NYC (including an authentically recreated infected man), “Swag Built to Survive” kits mailed to gaming and entertainment tastemakers, and global, in-world AR filters with partners including Snapchat and Tiktok.

Ultimately, through a suite of bespoke experiences and activations, HBO’s The Last of Us campaign won over both new and existing game fans, driving nearly 40M total viewers to its premiere episode, and growing into a global phenomenon throughout the season. Domestic viewership doubled by finale, and the series became the most watched show in the history of HBO Max in Europe and Latin America.

Global experiences beckoned fans in droves: the Brazil Comic-Con activation and sold-out New York screenings saw attendees in the thousands and drove social impressions in the millions, influencer premiums spurred 527+ pieces of content, which generated 14.1M organic social impressions, the Snapchat AR lens localized in 13 markets reached 5M in 72 hours; and finally, fans delivered 10B+ global hashtag views on TikTok spawned from the AR filter.