Netflix Marketing

Squid Game S2 - Bring Korea to the World.

Brave Dog Assignment:

After a three-year hiatus, Netflix needed to prove that Squid Game – a Korean-language dystopian thriller – could dominate global culture a second time, in a far more competitive entertainment landscape. The assignment was to translate a sprawling, 35-country guerrilla activation campaign into a single, cohesive Cannes Lions entry – one that could make the case for Brand Experience & Activation's highest recognition. That meant building a strategic narrative around what made "Pink Guards Everywhere" genuinely unprecedented: the fusion of Korean cultural identity with hyperlocal fan activations across 65+ cities, six continents, and 22 languages, all coordinated into a single unmissable global moment.

Netflix’s Marketing Challenge:

Squid Game's 2021 debut was lightning in a bottle. It was an unmarketed, word-of-mouth phenomenon powered by pandemic-era circumstances that could never be replicated. By 2024, the entertainment landscape had shifted dramatically. Western blockbusters like Barbie, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Wicked commanded the cultural conversation, streaming competition had intensified, and audiences had moved on. The central question Netflix faced: could a non-English series manufacture the conditions for lightning to strike twice? Intentionally, at global scale, and across dozens of distinct cultural markets simultaneously?

The Award Challenge:

Cannes Lions Brand Experience & Activation judges work weighted criteria – execution and results together account for 60% of the vote. An entry of this scale had to prove that the ambition was matched by real-world impact, not just spectacle. The guerrilla and stunts category demanded evidence that activations were genuinely disruptive in local contexts, not just globally coordinated. Our challenge was to build an entry narrative that made the cross-cultural complexity legible by showing how 10,000+ Pink Guards in 65 cities weren't a logistical achievement alone, but a strategically architected system for generating earned media, organic conversation, and cultural dominance market by market.

The Solution:

Brave Dog identified the entry's central argument: this wasn't a campaign with local executions, but a new model for global entertainment marketing, but one where Korean cultural essence and 35 locally distinct fan cultures were fused into a coordinated matrix of unmissable moments. Starting with a Pink Guards rappelling stunt at the Paris Olympics, the campaign built unstoppable momentum: 10,000+ Guards at stadiums, beaches, malls, and heritage sites worldwide; mass Red Light Green Light games in major cities; 50+ brand partnerships across retail and social; and 171 global influencers at the world premiere. The results were decisive – 174M viewers, Netflix's #1 in 93 countries, 14.37B owned social impressions, and 92.7B TikTok video views.

Netflix didn't just bring back a show, they brought Korea to the world and proved lighting can strike twice securing a Silver Cannes Lion award!

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