Executing an entirely social award show allowed fans of adult animation an unparalleled level of inclusion, and produced site engagement stats that blew industry standards out of the water. Using the animated characters themselves as our influencers, we engaged audiences of individual shows and brought them together as one community of Adult Animation fans.

Hulu has more adult animation than any other streaming service, but has never done anything to tap into the genre’s insanely fervent fans.

So they tasked us with creating a campaign that let those diehard fans know just how seriously Hulu takes animation.

Animation is the fastest-growing genre on TV. It has more viewers than Scorsese’s entire catalog, more fans than Leonardo DiCaprio, and holds the title for longest-running sitcom of all time. So why is animation relegated to a pity category in every major award show? In fact, why isn’t there an entire awards show dedicated to all the animated characters we know and love?

Enter the Hulu HAHA Awards: the first-ever all-animated animation award show.

Because a dedicated fandom for adult animation already existed, Hulu just needed to tap into it. With many in-person events like Comic-Con cancelled due to COVID, it was the perfect opportunity to create a highly shareable, entirely digital experience. Something that would get fans activated and excited to spread the word that Hulu has all the best adult animation.

As the streaming service with the most adult animation, Hulu wanted to give animated characters their chance to shine. Which is why we launched the first-ever all-animated animation award show: the Hilarious Animated Hulu Awards (aka The HAHAs).

First, we released videos nominating the best animated moments across categories like Most Insulting Insult and Best Fart Performance. Fans were directed to the microsite, where they cast over half a million votes. The networks and shows also shared the awards across social with their own audiences, and some show creators even posted custom animations of characters accepting their nominations.

Two weeks later, the winners were finally announced to the delight (or dismay) of fans, and Hulu delivered custom trophies to each of the winning characters.

The HAHA Awards garnered over half a million fan votes, along with 366 million total impressions. Show creators even made custom animations of characters responding to the awards and shared this content across social media. Fans spent an average of over four minutes on the HAHA Awards microsite, which is four times the industry standard.

Ultimately, Hulu went from just another streaming service with adult animation to the ultimate authority on the genre.