The Campaign Banking On Being Undefinable
Unlike most genre-bending properties that often make a safe bet on one clear positioning angle to draw in a core genre audience, The Curse has been unapologetically leaning into its undefinable nature. And that is an inspiring approach in a landscape where marketers are constantly being told to cut shorter assets, front load information, and run them close and closer to premiere, because attention spans are dwindling, audiences have too many options, and simplicity is the only guarantee in marketing effectiveness. The Curse has taken a different, and arguably bolder approach: the campaign is presenting the show not just as a series with a mystery at its core, but as a series that itself is a total mystery. Is this a Comedy? A Drama? A Thriller? Wait, is this Horror with jump scares? Does it have supernatural elements? Where do I know that guy from? Oh yea, that sort of unsettling show...The Rehearsal.
For an industry that often leans on the audience guarantee of developing and marketing material with a genre mindset, The Curse's campaign is a gamble on the differentiating potential of a show that doesn't fit in a box. Here are a few observations around how this campaign is banking on the intrigue of being undefinable:
The unknown is a point of intrigue: The series teaser leaned into ambiguity through the eery nature of a slow zoom-out shot of the two lead characters robotically reciting a script. Soundtracked by an equally unsettling score, the teaser communicated to the audience that this is an out of the box and unexpected story.
Juxtaposing A-list and emerging talent, not shying away from it: A traditional marketing playbook might suggest a campaign, and design materials, that lean more on the broad awareness of an Emma Stone, but it’s the juxtaposition of this A-list name alongside a more emerging talent, Nathan Fielder, that can intrigue the audience rather than prompt them to immediately draw conclusions and judgements around what a cast of known names will bring to a show.
Avoiding the barriers of “scary” by suggesting absurdity: The Curse trailer starts with the broadly appealing, and familiar feel of HGTV personalities, but unravels a commentary on the absurdity of it: this curse is a karmic commentary on the overlooked absurdity of “neighborhood improvement.” The campaign’s on-set photography shares this same sentiment. While routine evening-streamers may not always be in the mood for “Horror”, broad audiences have a significantly wider threshold for “Psychological Thrillers”.