Arcane: Netflix’s new hit surprised tourists with burning towers
About a story that took viewers in three acts into a universe called Runeterra, which houses the rich city of Piltover and the poor foothills of Zaun, who wrote after the official premiere of Arcane. Viewers in the series mainly follow the fates of sisters Vi and Jinx. It was the crazy blue-haired criminal Jinx who was the central figure of the campaign in Prague as well.
“We kicked off the campaign with the popular streamers who broadcast in blue hair on the Twitch.tv platform. The main motive was that Jinx was fleeing from the Piltover guards and they, together with the fans, were to help get lost, “says Ivan Soukup, DDB FTW Worldwide’s creative director.
Users had to share photos and a questionnaire on social networks with answers to when and where Jinx last saw or what she was wearing. However, the basis was as much evil guardian of order as possible. “Of course the wrong answers were the right answers,” adds Soukup with a smile.
The visual series was accompanied by a majestic painting by the sisters Vi and Jinx, which appeared in Prague’s Vysočany near the O2 Arena and the Galerie Harfa shopping center. On a huge wall (large-scale painting on the wall in a public space – note. Red.) is suitable for artists from the Stroy and Drawetc studios. “Riot Games wanted the mural to draw a local creator and carry his handwriting. It wasn’t just a flipping of the series, the artists were given materials and could choose what inspires them, build the motif of the painting, “explains Soukup.
In addition to the Czech capital, Murals have appeared in busy places in other cities around the world. The Prague DDB FTW often occurs on the realization of mural in other European countries such as Hungary, Romania or Greece. “We have been given the task that it should be in places where there is increased movement of people, ideally in the city center,” says DDB FTW Worldwide Klesa.
Therefore, eight places in Prague were possible, for example the famous wall on the corner of Komunardů Street and Bubenského nábřeží in Holešovice, and at the Manifesto Market in Smíchov. In the end, the location next to the Galerie Harfa shopping center won.
Another significant part was the burning towers, because they play a major role in the computer game League of Legends. The main heroine Jinx was to set fire to the destroyers and destroy a total of seven towers. First, the Lesser Town Tower at Charles Bridge caught fire, the next day the Old Town Tower and the Church of St. Nicholas. On the third day, Jinx chose the Old Town Hall, the Jindřišská Tower, the Powder Gate and the Novomlýnská Water Tower as their goals.
The historic buildings in the center of Prague did not actually burn, only pink smoke billowed from them with the help of light effects. However, this frightened some residents by calling firefighters. At first, the city itself did not pretend to allow such an event in Prague. In the end, however, the city representative was convinced that Prague would become part of a global campaign to help promote the capital.
“We used a film technique where you shine a pink light into a gray mist. In total, it was three nights and it always took half an hour, “Soukup explains, what technology” set the towers “on fire. At first, it wasn’t even supposed to be a fire, but a pink-purple substance that plays an important role in the series. In the end, however, the rolling smoke caused people to associate everything with fire. “The original idea was that the colored fog would sit on the ground and spread through the city. But it was unfeasible. In the end, it became a burning tower, and it fits the character of Jinx, “Soukup points to the main heroine, whose favorite discipline is explosions.
The most important place of the whole event was the tower of the Old Town Hall, because there are always crowds of tourists waiting for an hour until the Prague Astronomical Clock starts.
The last part of the Czech campaign was a secret party in the old wastewater treatment plant in Prague Bubeneč. “The party was conceived in an experiential way. We took the visitors through the underground cleaners, where, for example, there was a game of hunting hextech crystals out of the water, then we took them to Silc’s laboratory, where catering was served, music was played, artists painted pictures and Tatras tattooed motifs from the series, “says Soukup.
The organizers of the party conceived it as an expedition to the filthy suburb of Zaun, and the treatment plant was transformed into the serial pub The Last Drop that day. However, when planning the entire campaign, they did not know what the series would be like and what the environment was like.
“It was a big challenge to campaign for something we didn’t see. First we planned the party that it would be something from every city. So we will have a beautiful clean environment Piltover and then Zaun. But in the end, the Riot Games led us to make it a dirty and industrial suburb. The treatment plant in Bubeneč was immediately popular, “says the creative director.
How much the campaign to promote the Netflix series cost, its creators do not want to reveal. But because it was a follow-up to activities around the world, the costs were higher than the current standard for advertising campaigns in the Czech Republic. It can be crown units.
Riot Games is in the promotion of the series to other world capitals. Even before the premiere, a trailer for the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, was screened in Dubai. The so-called Hextech Expo also opened in Paris, London, Madrid, Istanbul, Singapore and Los Angeles. In these shops, he showed magnitude technology that combines magic with technology in the world of Runetter and allows you to power machines, emit rays of light and cut through the hardest steel. It is the mastery of this technology that is behind the rise of the fictional city of Piltover.
However, Jinx did not forget who hurt her during her escape, so she signed on to individual shops and mural around the world, including Prague. “It simply came to our notice then. The first destructions are such a child’s. In the opening act of Arcane, it is still small, but gradually everything is nothing more advanced, “notes Ivan Soukup. She didn’t completely destroy the Prague wall, she just decorated it with a few paintings, so fans of the series can see it until the end of November. Then he disappears forever.
The last three episodes of the popular series were released by Netflix last weekend. Shortly afterwards, the league games Legion of Legends Riot Games and the streaming platform confirmed that the animated series will see another series. However, the release date of other Arcane episodes is still unknown. For example, the global and Czech campaigns for the series will continue.