“Seeing things? Oh, I think they see you too!”
Step inside the unsettling world we built for the social campaign in partnership with HBO for IT: Welcome to Derry 🎈
Every swipe, scroll, and shadow felt like Pennywise was lurking just out of frame. This project reveals the creative direction, motion tests, and social-first executions that turned fans feeds into nightmares. From playful horror to fully unhinged moments of dread, every piece was created to linger in the mind long after the scrolling stopped.
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To kickoff the campaign, we invited fans to become part of The Losers Club by commenting the red balloon emoji. Thousands of fans were added to the 'Close Friends' list on @it_official where they were treated to exclusive content that included custom animated Viewmaster pieces that gave fans first looks at upcoming episodes.
Every swipe, scroll, and shadow felt like Pennywise was lurking just out of frame. This project reveals the creative direction, motion tests, and social-first executions that turned fans feeds into nightmares. From playful horror to fully unhinged moments of dread, every piece was created to linger in the mind long after the scrolling stopped.
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To kickoff the campaign, we invited fans to become part of The Losers Club by commenting the red balloon emoji. Thousands of fans were added to the 'Close Friends' list on @it_official where they were treated to exclusive content that included custom animated Viewmaster pieces that gave fans first looks at upcoming episodes.
We sent exclusive first-look photos to select influencers via vintage View-Master toys, letting them click through reels to uncover the horrors waiting in Derry—an unsettling twist on a nostalgic format. On social, we recreated the mechanic for Close Friends using bi-weekly IG Stories with immersive motion design, blending retro suspense with modern mystery to pull fans deeper into the world.
Following key episode drops, we continued our social world-building series with front-page headlines inspired by major events from the show. Without revealing any key spoilers, we teased controversies and interpersonal drama through era-appropriate visuals and in-world newspaper tone. This kept viewers immersed, engaged, and eager to see what The Derry Herald would uncover next.
To build anticipation and immerse fans in the terror of IT: Welcome to Derry, we launched a series of disruptive Instagram Stories that felt like they were breaking through the screen to strike terror in fans’ hearts. These horror-infused Stories began subtly with a single red balloon emoji that grew into a three-dimensional, near-bursting presence. We adapted the content weekly, evolving assets to interact with the UI and align with each episode’s release.
We expanded the campaign with a slate of additional thematic edits that deepened the dread, and even added in a few laughs. A standout moment came with a “This Is Your Man?” meme-style video reimagined with Pennywise as the star.
Additional Exploration
This early look and feel set the tone for the entirety of the campaign. Our visual exploration pulled from vintage Americana and aged film textures, creating a nostalgic façade that concealed something darker. Through portrait-led visuals, bold typography, and atmospheric compositions, we built a cinematic foundation for the haunting world of Derry.
Beep beep, Margie!
Client: HBO
Creative Direction: Bran Moats
Lead Strategist: Sammi Chancey
Design: Gyanna Yumping / Jason Fang
Motion Design: Alex Cho
Addtl. Motion: Jamil Watson
Lead Editor: Zac Castellano
Second Editor: Annette Rainey
Addtl. Editing: Rolando Garcia
Project Managers: Josie Lassen / Trokon Johnson
CM Producer: Emma D'Ambrosio
Studio: Watson Design Group
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