Mr. Mercedes, Season 3
Mr. Mercedes, an AT&T Original Series on Audience Network is based on Stephen Kings “The Bill Hodges” Trilogy Novels. In season 3, retired detective Bill Hodges — played by Brendan Gleeson investigates the murder of a solitary writer and those linked to his missing cash and manuscripts.
My goal was to create an organic social media campaign and a well-designed public-relations kit that would bring awareness to the show and its premiere date, while increasing impressions and positive fan engagement across all media platforms.
With a very conservative budget, I designed and developed a public-relations kit that mirrored the reclusive writer in the woods theme of season 3. My first idea was to build a small container that resemble a typewriter which dispensed post-it notes that had preprinted plot lines. The post-it note box was then adhered to a faux folio that I designed which served as a carrier for an embossed moleskin notebook, slick USB pen (which contained episodes) and a brochure. The Mr. Mercedes branded yellow was used in small touches over deep blacks. Cast and prop images, and clever taglines were placed throughout the kit, as well as on social media assets. These components helped capture the mysterious and daunting nature of the show and allowed to further develop material that was used throughout the print and digital campaign.
CAST Brendan Gleeson, Holland Taylor, Justine Lupe, Jharrel Jerome, Breeda Wool, Maximiliano Hernandez, Gabriel Ebert, Kate Mulgrew, Rarmian Newton, Brett Gelman and Bruce Dern.
CLIENT
AT&T & Audience Network
ROLE
Art Director
Designer
Animator
DELIVERABLES
Print & Digital Advertising
Public Relations Kit
Social Media Content
CATEGORY
Advertising
Page Layout/Packaging
Organic Social Media
Animation
Social Media Content.
In Season 3, I recognized that my approach to creating social content needed to deeply resonate with both the show’s fans and the network’s broader audience, with the goal of driving engagement and raising awareness for the season premiere and weekly episodes.
In preparation for our photoshoot, I researched current trends across various social media platforms. I then collaborated with our in-house illustrator to develop storyboards that guided both the photographer and the actors. The results were fantastic. While selecting the final images, I identified an opportunity to create unique stop-motion videos. I worked closely with our copywriter, sharing both my videos and ideas on paper. The collaboration sparked some incredible lines that infused the content with a new sense of comedy and suspense, helping to highlight the unique personalities of many of the characters from Season 3.
I conceptualized and designed the social media creatives featured in this campaign.
The following videos and gifs were built using frame animation. I used gallery and stock images, and bold yellow and white type treatments in both the static posts and video animations.
These two videos were my favorite. I wanted to reward both Stephen King and Audience Network Fans with posts that added a little touch of the unexpected.
Sketches, storyboards and comprehensives can be made available upon request.
SVP Creative Services Roger Hyde
VP Creative Services John Vetter
Copy Creative Director Richard Griffin
Creative Director Nicole Gunther
Senior Art Director Monica Foronda
Keyart Designer Susan Langholz Ceccarelli
Design Collaboraters: Mailing Box Joe Barbieri & Gallery Assistance Shelia Lee
Copywriter Michael Polovsky
Retouching Nina Marie Rambo Girod & John Grande
Social Header Video Animators Billy Lewis, Hensel Guerrera & Björn Ahlstedt
Teaser Video Animation Editor Ryan Wise
Producer Patti Whittier Heiss
Storyboard Illustrator Chris Martinetti
Studio Associate Director Matt Maniaci