Lionsgate
Mockingjay Part 1

Online Media Campaign

OVERVIEW

Mockingjay Part 1 was the highly anticipated third installment in The Hunger Games trilogy as well as the third Hunger Games collaboration between AvatarLabs and Lionsgate. To satisfy the hunger of insatiable fans, we knew we would need to create an innovative campaign that felt as big and bold as the Rebellion. Finally, the timing was right to execute our collective thinking about the Rebellion breaking through the creative and ultimately breaking through the clutter of competitive advertising in the Thanksgiving release window.

THE CAMPAIGN

The week of release we executed a large campaign over a variety of sites. One of the most impactful takeovers was on the homepage of popular gaming site IGN.com. The unit opened with an unexpected "interruption" - IGN was being hacked into, and a video of Beetee appeared, warning fans, "Citizens of Panem. Katniss Everdeen... IS the Mockingjay." Then, an image of Katniss exploded into view, setting the entire canvas of the page on fire with the custom motion poster art AvatarLabs created from the character key art. As wings unfolded from Katniss’s back and the Mockingjay symbol caught fire, flames emanated seamlessly across the page and animated wallpaper, spreading behind the transparent main unit where the opening day trailer played. The transparent, techy look of the creative was inspired by the holographic, high-tech communication devices found in the film. Ambient animation provided a holographic shimmer of movement throughout the experience. And that was just the beginning.

A flaming Mockingjay button was present on the ad, enticing fans to click. We purposely made the button unobtrusive, as to provide a delightful surprise for fans, who we knew were ravenous for any and all digital content. Once clicked, a "hacking" transition completely transformed the entire site to a control panel with District 13 rebel profiles. The dynamic, animating background was inspired by the District 13 website and app and was meant to evoke the "underground" feel with ambient motion throughout. The six rebels were featured prominently, via the online debut of exclusive motion posters AvatarLabs created, the static versions of which could be shared on Facebook and Twitter.

The IMDB takeover was a scaled-down version of the IGN experience, opening with fire animation expanding over the page, then retracting back into the ad unit. Upon expansion, this ad was also "hacked" into, and included the sharable exclusive Rebels content. The remainder of the campaign exploded on the digital and mobile web via rich media, progressive and mobile units.

RESULTS

Mockingjay Part 1 Mockingjay Part I was the #1 movie three weekends in a row. It went on to gross over $336 million domestically.

AWARDS

  • OMMA Awards Winner: Rich Display Media Campaign
  • thinkLA IDEA Awards Finalist: Best Visual Campaign