Disney and Pixar’s
Inside Out 2
Social, Influencer
Disney animation and moviegoing faced declining popularity, especially among the biggest group of ticket buyers—families. Animated titles were only grossing 32% of pre-pandemic box office levels… until Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 burst onto the scene. With spectacular colour no less! A vibrant coming-of-age comedy about the increasingly rich and wonderful Emotions that come with growing up, it catapulted its way to #1 movie of 2024 and #1 animated film of all-time. How did we turn the release of Inside Out into a cultural moment that reignited our region’s passion for the movies, and usher passive audiences back into cinemas?
We recognised that Southeast Asians weren’t the most forthcoming about feelings, but more of them are using relatable humour as a way to express themselves online. So, leveraging “I-feel-that” humour at familiar touchpoints, we got audiences to open up to all the Emotions of Inside Out 2 in cinemas.
We pulled back the curtain on Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and their new friends, Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui, as they crashed the moment you got your ticket,
checked in when you felt most vulnerable,
and got to work taking over your day!
However, the real breakthrough came when we dispelled the brand’s longheld resistance to incorporate local speak in its communications. We were confident that to really mobilise our audiences, we had to play up the movie’s relevance to their lives in a way that felt true and genuine to their experiences. So, we doubled down on speaking the language of their hearts.
We shared in the collective Emotional rollercoasters ridden every day,
even celebrated the more complex feelings that reside within us too!
Our likes and comments blew up with positive fan reactions and participation from every corner. We knew for sure that language had become a uniquely local way to experience our Emotions and strengthen audiences’ connection to the Inside Out story. So, we took our campaign from screen to stream by amplifying our strategy of hyperlocalisation.
When Inside Out 2 made its way to Disney+, it was a no brainer to hero the Tagalog dub—a first for the platform—in the Philippines. What better reason to rewatch, than experiencing its that-hit-home magic like the first time, isa pa, with all the feels (once more, with all the feels)?
After we kicked off the Ber months sending exclusive invites to the whole barkada,
we got Joshua Garcia, the nation’s heartthrob and dub actor of Lance Slashblade, serenading everyone up close and personal! When else could you bare your heart’s burning questions to him and have them answered?
we celebrated the campaign’s run with loyal Disney fans who’d petitioned for local dubs with patience and pride over the years.
Championing language diversity and how it enriches our Emotional experiences,
Riley’s story was one everyone already loved. Now, affections only deepened.