Netflix is well known and loved for original movies, shows, and documentaries that can compete with premium television channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Starz. But to have one hundred ninety-five million subscribers, making it the largest subscription streaming audience in the world, the ads have to be just as captivating as the content being offered. This is why I have chosen to analyze Netflix's new interactive Welcome to the Home of True Crime advertisement in this purpose analysis text where we will dive into the creators' strategic advertising to captivate international eyes. In ten seconds, an interactive video clip will leave you ready to become a google detective after catching a case of FOMO having to wait for the new series to arrive.
Have you ever played old RPG computer games where you are a detective and must find the clues to solve the mystery? One second into the video and immediately, this is the vibe you are getting. The introduction to the trailer immediately strikes you as the introduction to any classic mystery, you know: where the red room has a fireplace going and an armchair where you may be expecting a man in a robe with a slicked-back hairdo and tobacco pipe sitting cross-legged and eager to introduce you to the theme behind this week's mystery. As most people who enjoy crime and mystery would agree this immediately appeals to pathos because of the feelings of nostalgia and excitement wondering what is about to unravel in front of you. It also leads you to begin to infer if the series being shown will in fact be an interactive experience. Netflix has chosen to take a wildly popular concept of interactive TV and weave it into some of the platform's greatest hits creating more thematic nostalgia of chapter books featuring choose your own endings. From seconds in you are curious about what is coming next and hungry for more.
The next strategy that Netflix uses is the interactive experience it has twisted into the advertisement that was mentioned above. This keeps the audience engaged and feeling as if they are a part of the mysteries by becoming the detectives and tapping on clues. As a marketing technique, this is gold. I am a member of T Mobile Tuesdays through my phone plan and they offer interactive ads whenever promoting new movies or technology. Sometimes the interaction is even fairly simple with looking for a symbol during particular scenes or clicking on different parts of the new product coming out to see the unique features being offered. I can only speak from personal experience, but I go out of my way to interact with ads that I see even if I have no actual interest in that particular movie or product simply because of the brain stimulation it gives me by doing so. The advertisement itself is a mystery leaving the audience wondering if the shows coming out will be interactive like the ad or if it was just a way to engage the audience. Either way it worked, and the comments section under the viral Facebook post agree globally that we true crime fans are hungry for more. The interactive experience can be considered a strategy of logos, another philosophical idea that the writer organizes their work in a particular manner for the sake of the audience that it is being viewed by. The interactions organize the ad by prompting you to choose clues specific to the show or movie they are teasing you about. Each key point highlights a defining characteristic or piece of fact or evidence to provide insight into the topic of the new documentary. It also sparks the idea of pathos again, by offering viewers another hint at the nostalgia of games popular in the 2000s. Invoking the fun behind even the darkest of subject matter.
Lastly, our final philosophical idea of ethos comes into play as Netflix uses its world-renowned popularity to try to convince you that it is actually the Home of True Crime. The streaming service teases rebooting already popular series such as Tiger King before offering untold cases surrounding current hot topics like cryptocurrency and Bitcoin to make the viewer trust in the quality of new series and cases coming to screens. Netflix relies on its title as having some of the best original true crime series featuring controversial cases and eyewitness accounts as its driving force behind what makes these new drops special enough to be itching to tune in to.
Overall, I think I speak for the vast majority of true crime fans and Netflix stans alike when I say that this advertisement left us reeling with questions and yearning for the next taste of what's to come. The ten-second interactive Facebook advertisement has shaped entire subreddit groups dedicated to deciphering the ad and covering cases of the crimes teased in the trailer with cries for returns of crowd favorites or new content similar to cases that they fell in love with. As far as being a strong advertisement, what is more compelling than feeling like a true detective? I think it's pretty safe to say Netflix is the Home of True Crime, but only if you dare. So get ready to cross that yellow crime scene tape as we open up the files to some of the greatest true crime stories to date. See you there.
Can't wait? Me either, here's the follow-up trailer to the interactive teaser featuring a sneak peek at five new series coming to a screen near you: The Home Of True Crime | Slate Announcement | Netflix - Bing video
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