2025 has been a strange year. DUDE Milan is gearing up fans of ‘80s-inspired sci-fi are gearing up for a far stranger ending, the grand finale of cult Netflix series Stranger Things. Big questions are waiting to be answered – how will it end? Who’s going to die? And is it even real? Netflix has teamed up with streaming platform Spotify to help fans say goodbye to the retro fantasy thriller through one of its defining elements – music.
Whether serving as coded messages or inspiring acts of bravery and helping the characters fight the monsters threatening Hawkins, music has shaped the show’s narrative. The campaign, set to run across OOH and social, invites viewers to gear up for an epic conclusion by listening to the hit show’s official playlist on Spotify. It also reimagines the elements that have always defined Spotify’s end-of-year communications – spotlighting the ’80s tracks that turned Stranger Things’ most unforgettable scenes into global pop culture moments.
OOH features six designs – ‘Never Ending Story’, ‘Master of Puppets’, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’, ‘Every Breath You Take’, ‘Running Up That Hill’ and ‘Upside Down’ – each focused on a specific track and its role in the story. One execution highlights the opening season’s unofficial anthem by The Clash with the line, ‘In 1983, ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ helped a little sorcerer return to his family: today, it teaches us how important it is to let go of a story that is ending’. Another design pays tribute to Kate Bush’s 1986 hit, ‘Running Up That Hill’ – a song powerful enough to save the show’s skateboarding hero, Max Mayfield, and to climb the charts again nearly 40 years after its original release.
The campaign will culminate in a large-scale concert, Stranger Sounds, at one of Milan’s top live music venues, Fabrique, on December 29, where songs from the Stranger Things soundtrack will be performed by some of the biggest names in contemporary Italian music, including Mahmood, Francesca Michielin, Manuel Agnelli, Rose Villain and Rockin’ 1000.
Credits:
Agency: DUDE
Chief Creative Officers & Partners: Livio Basoli, Lorenzo Picchiotti
Creative Directors: Davide Labò, Luca Riva
Associate Creative Directors: Cecilia Rocchetta, Ilaria Biani
Junior Copywriter: Lorenzo di Biccari
Junior Art Director: Matilde Guabello
Head of Content: Ludovica d’Aquino
Business Director: Elena Panza
Account Director: Piera Colasante
Account Manager: Desideria Pollastro
