Narcos The Censor's Cut

In order to promote the launch of Netflix’s Narcos Mexico, a series filled with sex, drugs and violence, and get people hooked, we came up with one of the boldest and craziest idea: “Narcos the censor’s cut”. We created the most cut advertising campaign in the history of Thailand, using the hand of Thai censorship. We started by submitting Narcos Mexico trailer and artworks to Thai advertising censorship. As expected, they told us to cut out inappropriate content. But unexpectedly, we did it. Literally. Then, we really launched the cut version of our trailer and key visuals above the line and then online. The cut version only highlighted how hardcore and raw the series is and prompted people to see the uncut version on Netflix

Netflix wanted to promote Narcos Mexico series to Thai audience with a big, bold, crazy idea and get them hooked. But to promote it in a country that censors everything - even cartoon characters’ swimsuit - was not easy. In Thailand, everything deemed “inappropriate” cannot be overtly revealed, even with a rating system. That’s why Thais hate censorship. And that’s also why it was so perfect for our idea. Sex, Drugs, Violence? Let the Censorship promote it for us. We submitted the ads and, as expected, they told us to cut everything they considered inappropriate content. We did as they said. Literally. And then launched the cut version out there, triggering people's curiosity and capturing the nation's attention like never before.
Thai people are one-of-a-kind. Besides having our own language, food, culture, we also have a unique mentality: we just love to hate. Every day thousands of complaints about the government, transit system, and even weather flood the internet. So, to attract the mass audience and turn the distant Netflix into something people love, we needed to find something that Thai people all know and hate. And we found just that. The much-annoyed Thai censorship became our key to people’s hearts.