Challenge

The series had two entertainment juggernauts co-producing with a vested interest in creating an innovative, targeted Emmy^® “For Your Consideration” (FYC) campaign to grab the attention of television academy voters and compel them to notice, watch and nominate a critically acclaimed, viewer beloved, yet perennially overlooked television drama and its lead actors.

Insight

Voters’ misperception that the critically acclaimed drama was a version of Beverly Hills 90210 about football. A Peabody and Humanitas award-winning series, Friday Night Lights (FNL) wove together universally relatable, original and compelling characters into an exceptional drama. We sensed an opportunity to engage the series’ active, loyal fan base and TV critics to reach voters with an innovative approach and simultaneously drive tune-in.

Solution

We introduced a first-of-its kind, multi-platform campaign complete with “fan video” conveying FNL’s essence and the consistently fervent, high regard of critics and fans alike to drive Emmy voters to “See For Yourself”. We wrote a script, distributed it via FB to fans who wanted to help (overwhelming the site) and created a stop-action video with original music to make an emotional and entertaining plea directly to voters. The media buy targeted and tracked the online campaign, hotly traveled entertainment-centric blogs, mags and key social media sites, with a separate PR execution to generate buzz and repeat viewing.