Eyes are everywhere — they'll know they can trust you when you say, "There must be an us now because there’s a them." #HandmaidsTale #sxsw pic.twitter.com/xPZauZJKSI
— The Handmaid's Tale (@HandmaidsOnHulu) March 11, 2017
Hulu is taking an unconventional approach to promoting its upcoming adaptation of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. The streaming site isn't putting up billboards or plastering walls with photos of the show's star Elisabeth Moss. Instead, its going for something a bit creepier.
The AV Club reported that Hulu enlisted an entire army of handmaids to walk the streets of the South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX, in complete silence. Creepy? Definitely. Did it catch everyone's attention? No doubt.
The handmaids walked around the festival grounds clad in red long-sleeved dresses and eye-catching white hats. It's the uniform of the handmaid, a social class in the fictional land of Gilead that exists solely to reproduce and stay out of sight. Naturally, seeing these solemn figures walking around like it's no big deal made quite the impression.
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If you see them at #SXSW ask them, "Should we walk by the river?" #HandmaidsTale pic.twitter.com/3RdpPoZKeC
— The Handmaid's Tale (@HandmaidsOnHulu) March 10, 2017
The show's official Twitter account is asking anyone who encounters the handmaids — who travel in pairs — all the better to monitor one another — when not in groups — to ask them, "Should we walk by the river?"
There's no word yet on how they'll respond. Maybe everyone is just a little too creeped out to try it?
The Handmaid's Tale, spotted at #SXSW. @MargaretAtwood pic.twitter.com/agMmvKWilp
— Erica Grossman (@erica_grossman) March 10, 2017
#handmaidstale procession at #SXSW powerful. @MargaretAtwood pic.twitter.com/YcBReO1D6w
— andrea davis (@detailmatters) March 10, 2017
Margaret Atwood is already getting fans excited, saying, "Based on what I've seen it's a 10. My criteria: puddle of goo on the floor [by the] end of episode 3. Gasp. Shriek. It goes farther than I did in the book..." Just how far? We won't know until the show hits Hulu on April 26.
What we do know is that Hulu's PR stunt is more successful than Game of Thrones' recent ploy. Earlier this week, HBO tried to build excitement with a block of ice and some flames on Facebook Live, but it ended up flopping.
Due to technical errors and over an hour of lukewarm anticipation, many viewers simply tuned out. Some even joked that next time, a simple press release would have sufficed. These handmaids, though, are certainly getting people talking, even if they're not.
#handmaidstale continues to creep me out. pic.twitter.com/IXR0rFhLpu
— kate d. (@sweatnap) March 11, 2017
#handmaidstale promotion is a little creepy... pic.twitter.com/EPW6cQklRG
— Colby Natal (@Ironfilmstudios) March 11, 2017