The issue behind GIGIL’s Trese billboards.
“Layas! Siyudad namin’to!”
Last June 2021, Netflix again became the talk of the town. The global streaming platform’s campaign with GIGIL for
award-winning graphic novel “Trese” caught the attention of Filipinos because of its out-of-the-box use of billboards, as
well as other out-of-home materials.
To promote the first-ever Filipino animated series on Netflix, the campaign took inspiration from the title itself, which was
a horror/crime book set in Manila, highlighting Philippine mythology in the metropolis.
The issue behind GIGIL’s Trese billboards? So as a stunt, GIGIL and Netflix put up the usual Netflix billboards for ‘Trese’ all over the country, then a few days after vandalized and destroyed them as if Philippine mythological creatures did it.
At first, people online speculated if there was any issue about “Trese,” whose showing, leading up to June 2021, was
highly anticipated by the whole country. Many were puzzled, some were dumbfounded to see social media posts from
Netflix showing “vandalized” and slashed billboards of the animated series. “What kind of monster would do this???”
said the caption. “If you see something, say something—we’re going to find out who did this.”
Then a few more days later, it was revealed the culprits were actually creatures from the show. Footage of aswangs and
tiyanaks “caught in the act” on CCTV cameras were released on social media.
By taking this approach for promoting Trese, the campaign left an impression on many Filipinos. “Fans of ‘Trese’ noticed
the release of the Trese billboards,” founding partner Badong Abesamis says. “But when it was vandalized, the whole
country took notice.”
In the making of this campaign, highlighting Filipino talent was never an issue. GIGIL, a wholly-owned Filipino company,
worked closely with writer Budjette Tan who wrote “Trese.” The campaign’s direction was led by Stef Pajarito, a Filipino,
and Netflix’s Country Marketing Manager, with Daphne Ng, Marketing Creative Producer for Southeast Asia.