Showcase sees red!

With the UK experiencing an intense heatwave with temperatures reaching the high 30s and low 40s, experts shared that people with pale skin, freckles, and red hair are more vulnerable to the sun’s rays. What better place to escape to than Showcase Cinemas – with refreshing air con and all the latest blockbusters?  Launching a social media campaign that gained worldwide attention, Showcase made the sympathetic call to give away FREE tickets to all customers with red hair during the height of the heatwave (Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th of July). 

To highlight the benefits of Showcase’s SPF (Sun Protecting Flicks) promotion, our creative team designed social media and web assets featuring famous Hollywood redheads – such as Emma Stone and Rupert Grint. Magnifying the auburn colour, the creative assets featured shades of orange as a nod to redheads and the high temperatures. 

With a strong call-to-action (CTA) encouraging social media users to tag a redheaded friend and draw attention to the offer, the tongue-in-cheek campaign went viral around the globe. The Facebook post we created for Showcase Cinemas received 1.3k reactions, 5k comments and 2.7k shares. 

Building on social media success, the campaign was quickly picked up by news outlets around the world and led to 3 billion impressions and over 90k page views. In the UK, LADbible followed the journey of a TikTok user who proudly sported her red hair at Showcase Cinemas and enjoy the latest blockbusters for free in the air-conditioned auditorium. 

Our campaign creative was also featured in The Washington Post, highlighting to their US audience how a majority of buildings in Britain do not have air conditioning – hence the appeal of cinemas that do. The article included a statement from Showcase Cinemas expressing their excitement to greet red-haired customers,  and the evident success of their campaign. 

We look forward to helping Showcase Cinemas go viral again in the near future!