Rallying the World to the House of the Dragon Banners
As the world was gearing up for season two of House of the Dragon back in June, Giant Spoon, a long-time partner of HBO Max that has been working on the show since its inception, was busy cooking up sky-high excitement.
Starting with, as Monica Herman, ECD at Giant Spoon, says, "a clear directive from HBO to get the world to ‘raise their banners’ for the next season of House of the Dragon", the canvas in front of the team was wide open, but the scale of HBO Max's ambition that they do something that was "equal parts inciting, spectacular and replicable across the globe".
The result is 'Raise Your Banners', an experientially led campaign that served the strategy to a tee but employed a mix of tactics that, Monica adds, "defy traditional categorisation. Any time we structure a campaign, it’s the message that informs the medium, never the other way around."
They placed digital and physical black versus green banners across New York City, such as on the Brooklyn Bridge, and other spots worldwide. But perhaps the campaign's piece de resistance came in the form of a 270-foot inflatable Vhagar - the biggest dragon to star in the show - that they placed on top of the Empire State Building, giving us very modern-day King Kong vibes.
To talk through the logistical process behind the Vhagar installation, from production and permits to intense monitoring of the weather, LBB’s Addison Capper caught up with Monica. We've also scattered a selection of images from the wider campaign throughout the piece.
LBB> What was HBO's reaction like when you first presented the idea put Vhagar atop the Empire State Building?
Monica> For the Vhagar collaboration with Empire State Building, it was an immediate, 'Yes. Go.' When you’ve worked with a client as long as Giant Spoon has worked with HBO, the trust is invaluable. We’re always challenging each other and exchanging different perspectives but when an idea is that good, we both know. And that lack of hesitation is what allows us to move fast and make the impossible a reality.
LBB> In terms of warrants and things like that, how did you pull this off?
Monica> We had an incredible ‘best of NYC’ team, starting with our exceptional partners at the Empire State Building. The stunt involved Event Permits working magic with the city, McLaren Engineering at the helm from a technical perspective, Jepol with their rigging and installation expertise and Bigger Than Life (BTL) bringing decades of inflatable fabrication experience to the table. What began as daily project meetings became hourly conversations during launch week, allowing us to work out real time challenges and stay in total lockstep from the minute the dragon started going up.
LBB> What was needed? What could have gone wrong? Give us the details here and tell us what that process was like.
Monica> Creative problem solving was essential to this campaign, both in the conceptual development and in the execution. In the end, our biggest challenge was wind. The dragon was engineered for conditions we were reasonably confident wouldn’t be exceeded, but the safety of the rigging team required extraordinary caution. We worked with a dedicated meteorologist to arm ourselves with historical data. This guided our advance install planning, as well as the real time forecasts in the days leading up to ensure we could nail down the perfect window of opportunity for installation. Our rigging team was best in class and their flexibility and partnership ultimately allowed us to complete this successfully and, most importantly, safely.
LBB> From a build and logistics perspective, what was that process like? Take us back to the start. What kind of planning was involved to make sure you built something true to Vhagar but also that could be mounted atop a skyscraper?
Monica> We’ve been working on House of the Dragon since its inception so we know these dragons like they’re our own pets. From the exact red tone of Vhagar’s tongue to the precise curve of her wing, we developed a comprehensive brief that allowed our partners to develop a 3D model that was broken down into 1,700 patterns with 600,000 inches of sewn seams.
LBB> How was the inflatable produced and how did you go about implementing it in place?
Monica> Working closely with the team at ESB, we were able to design and engineer Vhagar to the exact specifications of the building, through which full scale inflatable patterns and handmade textures were created, from the 150-foot tail down to individual teeth and claws. The inflatable was assembled around highly engineered internal chambers to distribute pressure and maintain rigidity. Rig points and wind loads were calculated directly from the 3D model, so each rigging point was installed onto the building prior to installation.
LBB> How did you go about implementing it in place?
Monica> We had a team of 20 riggers that installed the dragon in three pieces, rappelling down from the ice shield to secure the 153 anchor points to pre-installed and labelled brackets mounted to the building. We also had two riggers at the building on call 24/7 for the entire duration of our live days, monitoring wind, weather, and air pressure for the blowers.
LBB> This is obviously a form of advertising, but in terms of the creation and production, it's so far removed from the 'ordinary'. Why does Giant Spoon excel at work like this?
Monica> Because we genuinely believe that big ideas drive business results and because we have clients who believe that, too. That conviction drives the talent we attract and our track record engenders the trust that we can pull it all off.
LBB> What kind of reaction did you see to the project?
Monica> It’s not every day your work gets called called “f*cking crazy” and “f*cking majestic” by two major publications in one week. Because we mixed the real takeovers with CG content, we created a brand universe that fans could explore and engage with, anytime, anywhere. With 6.4+ billion press impressions and 1.4+ billion social impressions in that first week alone, we generated the most global press of any campaign in Max’s history. All of that – plus the texts from family and friends who saw the work first hand – made us pretty f*cking happy.
