The Stranger Things advertising phenomenon continues. Grabbing audience attention has never been more challenging for brands – but also never more full of opportunities. Stranger Things season 5, with its massive viewership, books, games, podcasts and stage shows, is an opportunity that many brands have seized. Microsoft is the latest to form a symbiotic relationship with Netflix marketing.
The brand and its campaign by Boo Agency in the UK, play on interest in Stranger Things’ home, Hawkins, Indiana. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 now has a Stranger Things expansion that lets players fly over a detailed recreation of the fictional town, Hawkins, and explore its locations such as Starcourt Mall, Hawkins Lab, and the Upside Down. The add-on includes helicopter missions in a Bell UH-1H Huey helicopter with Stranger Things’ ex-investigative journalist, karate instructor and private investigator, Murray Bauman, giving fans both sightseeing and narrative-driven challenges.
The campaign hero commercial, Hawkins Heli-Tours, is built around an in-universe travel agency marketing a helicopter tour of the town that’s exactly as twisted as you’d expect for Hawkins. The film, directed by the Lynch Brothers, features a mix of live-action sets, in-game footage and a real helicopter, building on the retro texture of the series for fans of the game. It features an original jingle and, of course, Easter eggs to encourage repeat viewing plus a real telephone number for an IRL extension to the campaign. Moving into an experiential campaign, the Microsoft Experience Center and Spark Agency recreated the fictional travel agency at a real New York location, complete with helicopter simulator and turned the Microsoft Cube in Times Square into a 3D CRT monitor.
Credits
Creative Agency: Boo Agency
Creative Director: Izaak Flanders
Senior Creative: Iain Littlemore
Creative: Isik Ulgenalp
Executive Producer: Stephanie Charmail
Motion Design: Amelia Potter
Digital Design: Paris Scott
Design Director: George Allen
Design: Matthew Tebbs, Jason Hall
Directors: The Lynch Brothers (David Lynch & Keith Lynch)
DoP: Sashi Kissoon
AD: Richard Newman
Sound: Pete Cowasji
Production Designer: Sam Harley
Assistant Producer: Reine Issa
Post-Production: Creative Outpost
Executive Producer: Charlotte Whittall
Senior VFX Producer: Andy Salem
Senior Editor & Motion Graphics Designer: Kyli John
Senior VFX Artist: James ‘Krispy’ Cornwell
VFX Artist: Taylor Vaux-Nobes
Senior Colourist: Jack Caswell
Colour Assist: Zoe Francis
Sound Designer: Luke Isom
