Beyond the billions of social impressions, press outlets were also abuzz about the physical—and CGI—banners. AP even sent a reporter to verify if the New York banners were real: “An AP reporter on Monday about 1 p.m. went to the area where each video was filmed and confirmed no banners were hanging from either bridge,” the outlet wrote.
However, not all the House of the Dragon talk was positive. Backlash ran the gamut, including everything from critics complaining about being tricked with CGI to others saying the CGI— often mistakenly called AI—didn’t look real enough.
“There are always going to be some haters. It doesn’t matter,” Barlow said to the criticisms. “It’s just a matter of trying to get everyone talking.”
The campaign takes flight
According to Barlow, the campaign was around an 18-month process during the two years the show was off the air.
The Season 1 campaign was all about reinvigorating life into the Game of Thrones franchise following a hiatus of material after the final season’s mixed reviews. Now, Season 2 was about bringing House of the Dragon to where Game of Thrones used to be among fans, reaching a broad audience and making it the unmissable event of the summer, according to Barlow.
“We’re incredibly fortunate that we have this fandom with lots of love for the show, so how do we leverage this fandom, not just to get them talking about the show, but also the campaign?” Barlow said. “How do we help create brand ambassadors for us? What’s a rallying cry we can create that makes you want to be part of this community or you’re just missing out?”
