A woman is solemnly crowned Snack Queen at the popcorn counter, a man is carried away by the sound in the auditorium and forgets his manners, and an elderly couple take a journey back in time in their cinema seats.It might sound like an episode of the X-Factor, but in fact these are three campaign clips for HDF KINO.

They convey the experience of going to the cinema. But they don’t focus on what is happening on screen, as you might expect, but on everything else.They show the apparent ‘incidentals’ that make a visit to the cinema such an emotional event. Cinema snacks, sound and dates are absurdly portrayed in a cinematic style.

In order to depict the fascinating trade-off between everyday life and big emotions, we put together a hand-picked cast: people who looked entirely normal and approachable, yet – when set against the fantastic scenery – very special.

In mid-2022, cinemas were facing a difficult situation: over the course of the pandemic, we became a part of our own couches. Everyday, we stared at our handheld devices, forgetting what a unique experience it is to visit the cinema. Cinemas are magical places that cannot be replaced by a Bluetooth device or sticky home-made popcorn – we wanted to remind people of this. Short message: Streaming cannot and must not replace visiting the cinema. → Campaign: Cinema. It’s a feeling.With films are now streamed on even the smallest screen, the campaign wasn’t meant to focus on what is happening onscreen, but on everything else. The idea was to showcase the actual cinema experience on a large scale with all its emotional impact. From this idea emerged a campaign platform: ‘Cinema. It’s a feeling.’ It was brought to life with three cinematic clips focusing on cinema snacks, dates and sound.

These clips were shown online and in cinemas. On YouTube alone, the clips were streamed 12.7 million times – a viewing rate of 99%. We also used OOH and influencer power to ensure that cinema became a genuine feeling again for the young target audience. Ultimately the landing page received a total of 2.5 million clicks and a whopping 408 million views.