Netflix is hiding ads for the new 'Narcos' season in places it thinks people did cocaine in the '90s

pulse

September 10, 2017 8:43 AM

Netflix has been plastering bars, clubs and their bathrooms with punny one-liners about the Cali Cartel.

When Netflix ended the second season of its hit original series Narcos, the show seemed to have reached its logical conclusion: Pablo Escobar was dead after two gritty seasons full of drugs and violence.

The company just released the third season of the series this past weekend. The only hitch? Everyone in the world knows

Netflix has been plastering what would have been cocaine hotspots in the '90s, aka bars and clubs and their bathrooms, with punny one-liners and facts about the Cali Cartel to educate viewers and build excitement around the latest season.

“We wanted to not only be disruptive and place the idea where people would least expect it, but it was just as important for us to continue the story that Netflix is telling," said Jason Gaboriau, Doner Los Angeles' chief creative officer. "Netflix is first and foremost about storytelling. This is just a continuation of the storya segue if you will to the next chapter in a contextual setting so we’d be heard.”

The contextual ads follow the same approach that Netflix has adopted in previous seasons, using fact-based campaigns and utilizing statistics to illustrate the storyline. Last year, before releasing the show's second season, for instance, Netflix launched a Tumblr site called ‘Narcopedia’, an interactive experience that took viewers through the history of cocaine and provided in-depth information on the war on drugs.

The approach seems to be working. According to data crunched by social analytics firm Brandwatch, while there has been some mention of viewers "missing Pablo" online, the Cali Cartel is gaining prominence, with over 7,000 mentions over the past month versus "Pablo Escobar," which has about 2,300 mentions.

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