[PITCH, RESCUE, DELIVER]
STRANGER THINGS IN SEARCH
CLIENT
Google / Netflix
YEAR
2025
ROLE
Art Direction / Pitch Lead
STUDIO
StudyHall
FORMAT
Brand Campaign / Pitch + Production
Art Directed on the pitch, then came back to land it all the way to delivery.
(X)
Led the visual exploration for the pitch
(X)
Returned mid-production to restructure pipeline, file discipline, edit hand-off
(X)
Ran daily direction across the motion team
(X)
Led a second round of explorations at Google's request
(X)
Drove final delivery. Broadcast on Christmas Day NFL to an estimated 65M audience (+ 12M on YouTube).
001. // CONTEXT
Stranger Things' final season was a cultural moment.
Google's brief:
use AI Search to catch viewers up on the show.
StudyHall pitched for the motion.
002. // THE PITCH
We showed Google what the campaign could be
Stranger Things inside the UI
Search bars as characters
AI Mode as the storyteller
80's nostalgia
Google said yes. Job done?
003. // A HICCUP
The build drifted. I was asked back to tighten it, and stayed to direct daily across the motion team.
I restructured the pipeline
master files
AE architecture
version discipline
shot list
clean edit hand-off procedures
004. // SHAPING ON SCREEN
Once the build was tight, the visual development continued. We pushed the search bars further. These are some moments that earned their place in the cut.
As we reach the final emotional crescendo, we had the search bar's glow light the scene.
Google isn't placed between the viewer and the action anymore. It is the action.
005. // RELEASE
Drove final delivery (down to the wire).
Christmas Day. NFL broadcast. Spot ready for 65M people.
