SHOWTIME®’s YELLOWJACKETS is one of the most buzzed-about series on television. Social speculation, fan theories, and reactions to this show’s wild ride is a core audience behavior. However, with its bifurcated Thursday streaming / Sunday linear release schedule, we had to find a way to create social-first content that gave streaming audiences a place to discuss these shocking moments without spoiling anything for the linear viewers.
Throughout the campaign, our spoiler philosophy was to go just up to the edge, then leave the audience wanting more. It prevented us from ruining a shocking twist for a linear viewer while providing our streaming viewers an IYKYK exclusive inside joke.
But skillful edits weren’t enough. We needed to infuse the dark humor of the series alongside these shocking surprise moments. That’s where integrated text came in. These wry one-liners perfectly blended with the series footage to merge shocking plot twists with hilarious, subversive sentiment… all the elements that keep audiences coming back to YELLOWJACKETS for more.
Our goals were twofold: increase viewership and give fans a place to discuss the shocking events of the episode. Season 2 became Showtime's most-streamed debut ever, exceeding Season 1’s premiere by 110% and its finale by 40%. Daily comnverrsation volume continued to build episode over episode. In terms of conversation, each of these pieces garnered hundreds of engagements, ranging from comments on the music of the piece to the emotion of the moment to our twisted and hilarious post copy — all without spoiling the mystery of the moment.