The Gist

NETFLIX PH’S MARKETING TEAM FOR ‘TRESE’ SNAPPEDT WITH ALL THESE ‘VANDALIZED’ POSTERS AHEAD OF GLOBAL PREMIERE

The creatures that Alexandra Trese will begin to hunt today, June 11, have come out to do everything they can to keep her out of the city. From vandalized posters to bloody messages, the Philippines' supernatural foes are visibly getting scared. As they should.

PAULINE NACAR / 11 June 2021

In the world of “Trese”, modern-day Filipinos are co-existing with the supernatural beings of our folklore stories. But, as you would expect from some sinister creatures, a few of them are organizing underground crimes to terrorize the people of the Philippines for one reason or another. That’s where Alexandra Trese steps in.

The award-winning story of Trese is brought to life from the comic book pages written by Budjette Tan, and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. Since 2005, the series has taken over the local comics community, and today, this legendary horror/crime story makes history as the first Filipino Netflix Original Anime on the global streaming platform. Led by the voices of Shay Mitchell and Liza Soberano for the English and Filipino versions, respectively, the series is met with unparalleled support from Filipinos all over the world since the first teaser was unveiled.

But as the days grew closer and closer to the premiere date, a renewed excitement stirred among eager viewers as Netflix continued its massive marketing push for Trese‘s highly-anticipated release. An outpour of support was already in place for this historic milestone in Philippine entertainment and storytelling, but fans and non-fans alike grew all the more excited when Netflix Philippines’ recent set of promotions came out.

Just like any other major premiere in the country, massive billboards were put in place around the Metro to promote the series, as well as a few posters here and there. These visual ads were standard—nothing too exciting beyond the material it’s trying to promote. However, as the days went by, more and more of them were being “vandalized” with messages urging Alexandra Trese to leave. Days later, it was revealed that it’s the very creatures Trese is bound to hunt down who are sending these messages in the fickle attempt to prevent their inevitable damnation.

Netflix Philippines released exclusive “footage” filming creatures going up and down the huge billboards to destroy, and terrifying silhouettes trying to send their messages across. These low quality recordings were allegedly submitted by anonymous concerned citizens.

The videos are putting the internet in a frenzy as Filipinos applaud Trese’s and Netflix Philippines’ marketing teams in this inspired campaign. The graphics detailing the supernatural criminals vandalizing Trese’s posters are perfectly realistic they’re actually frightening, reminiscent of those low quality videos claiming they saw a tiyanak, manananggal, or any paranormal being around our darkened streets. Local marketing professionals and creatives are geeking out over this unique promotional strategy, and others who don’t fit these descriptions are simply awed by such advertising that we’ve never really seen before for a local series.

 

Needless to say, the excitement surrounding Trese is just on a whole other level. This is very much deserved as the milestone is definitely something to celebrate for all local animators, writers, and storytellers. The numerous languages in which the series will be made available in also presents an incredible opportunity for it to be globally-recognized, elevating Philippine talent to a global scale.

The entirety of Trese Season 1 is now available on Netflix, ready to give you that Friday night terror and entertainment. Just don’t forget to lock your doors and close your windows. You’ll never know if young Trese’s enemies are lurking around, waiting for their next victim.

Watch Trese only on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81012541