OUTCASTAWAY CRUISE

The Brief

Netflix wanted an activation that stand out in the noise of summer, bring Wednesday’s “outcast energy” to life, and create a fan-first experience. The goals were clear: build hype around the Season 2 launch, be newsworthy in its own right, and make it easy for fans to create and share content that would keep the Wednesday buzz alive.

Creative Concept

This wasn’t your average boat party. It was a summer holiday from hell, oozing in gothic glamour.  

Our London event team and in-house creative fabrication agency turned The Dixie Queen into the Outcastaway Cruise, a twisted gothic journey where nothing was built for comfort. From ice cream laced with doom at the Crypt Creamery, to Thing greeting guests at the gangway. Guests were met with sinister sailors, shackled décor, eerie entertainment, and activities like “Wear Your Woe” tattoos and “Tides and Talons” manicures.

The concept was simple. A summer escape that felt like Wednesday designed it herself… bleak, sarcastic, and completely unforgettable.

The Delivery

Every detail to rejected the traditional “fun in the sun” brief and instead created an deadpan, immersive experience. Arrival began with sailors scowling guests into queues. Onboard, the Deck of Decay hosted tango cabaret, escapology, and ghostly piano sets, while the Crypt Creamery served flavours like Chill of the Damned and Sundae Mourning. A roaming tour guide heckled tourists with gothic monologues about London’s dark past, while artists sketched caricatures of exaggerated gloom. All sourced, directed and managed by our in-house talent agency.

Guests were then summoned to the no-fun no-sun deck for the ultimate hero moment, using their “telekinetic powers” to raise Tower Bridge, before the Outcastaway cruise passed beneath. The most daring could even “Press for Pain”. Every element aligned with the brief: immersive, playful, dark, and brimming with content-ready moments.

The Impact

The Outcastaway Cruise sold out instantly, with almost 19,000 fans registering for just 1,600 places. Social feeds filled with TikToks, reels, and photos of the cruise, giving Netflix the buzzworthy moment they wanted. Guests called it “the most original fan event they’d ever been to,” while media coverage cemented the cruise as a standout activation in Netflix’s campaign.

A holiday from hell never looked so good.

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