WEBTOON’s cat-headed characters performed everyday activities in the streets while hinting at the show’s more sinister plot line.
Digital comics platform WEBTOON’s series, “Everything is Fine,” is a dystopian, horror-genre story about a pair of catheads living in a seemingly normal world until it becomes apparent to viewers that everything is indeed not fine. To promote season two, WEBTOON on July 8 unleashed a cadre of characters donning giant catheads for a street marketing stunt in New York City to drive tune-in and create awareness for the webcomics platform that serves a wide range of comic genres, creators and fans.
The cat-headed characters performed innocuous activities throughout Washington Square Park in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue and Domino Park in Brooklyn, from completing chores, to taking part in a Tai-chi class, to walking a dog, and carrying boxes. Through a partnership with New York Cake Pops, cathead props were dispensed from an IRL replica of the comic’s tiny home. A QR code on a sticker on the back of each pop linked to the series.
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Throughout the day, props and other subtle additions to the scene helped pay homage to the plot line—that the catheads are being surveilled. The characters’ eyes would periodically turn red to mimic that surveillance theme; there were “sinister CCTV surveillance cameras” appearing around the characters; signage that read, “They are watching,” was placed in the characters’ paths; and stenciled messages on the street offered unsettling messages amid all this like, “The sun is shining.”
WEBTOON’s target for the stunt was as wide-ranging as its user base—about 75 percent of its users are Gen Z or millennials, with nearly 60 percent identifying as women, according to Jini Cho, director of digital and partnerships at WEBTOON.
Engaging creators and fans who haven’t “historically been prioritized by the industry” is a key objective within the brand’s marketing strategy. The platform “embraces a huge range of innovative styles and voices,” Cho says, from traditional superheroes and powers to slice-of-life anime to LGBTQ+ narratives and POC-focused storytelling to horror comics, like “Everything is Fine.”
“We’re in a unique moment where comics have never been more popular. Every time you turn on a streaming service, go into a bookstore, or head to the movies, you’re interacting with comics IP. Comics, webcomics, comic adaptations and comic lore are everywhere,” she says. “If you look beyond the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe] and mega-blockbusters, there’s an entirely new and thriving world of webcomics that millions of Gen Z around the world have fallen in love with. Experiential is one of the tools we’re using to showcase how much webcomics are the most exciting, diverse and original content on the planet.” Agency: Bankrobber. Content: Starfish. Fabrication and Logistics: Millwright.
