Netflix viewers contain multitudes in Juan Cabral’s wonderfully creepy ‘Who’s Watching?’ ad

David Madrid’s fun film for Netflix Spain uses the streamer’s welcome prompt as a launch pad for psychological hijinks

Published On
Jan 12, 2024
Three of the same woman sitting on a couch together

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It seems like an innocent question: Who’s watching?

It’s the query that greets you when you launch Netflix and are asked to choose a user account. But in David Madrid’s new commercial for Netflix Spain, directed by Juan Cabral, it’s a portal to deeper existential explorations.

Who are you, deep down? What combination of Netflix shows will satisfy the cravings and curiosities of your many hidden selves?

These are weighty issues. In the spot, we see a woman named Norma struggling with them. From the first frame, she looks panic-stricken. The “Who’s watching?” prompt throws her into a tailspin, and almost immediately she’s tussling with herself for the remote.

Things only get stranger from there.

 

The spot has a great vibe—creepy yet comic. The bus scene, in particular, is excellent, with Norma getting viewing advice from versions of herself who seem to have emerged from the shows themselves—including, most hilariously, “Wednesday” and “Alpha Males.”

There’s a “Black Mirror” thing going on, aptly enough. And it’s nice to see Netflix go a little darker like this—an approach that subtly acknowledges the addiction of television in the age of binge watching. It’s an approach that other streamers have used successfully in the past—notably, Droga5 London’s “Great Shows Stay With You” work for Amazon Prime.

Pancho Cassis, global chief creative officer at David, told Ad Age that in such a competitive landscape, Netflix needed a brand campaign to promote its most considerable advantage—its wide range of genres and content.

“But we didn’t want to fall into the trap of using footage from the shows and the movies,” he said. “That’s the easy solution: let the celebrities carry the weight of the proposal. Everyone else does that. And we knew it wouldn’t work with consumers. That’s why we went for the human truth, the product insight. And ended up finding Norma, a normal woman with inner struggles whenever she turns on Netflix and reads the famous question: ‘Who’s watching?’”

David enlisted Juan Cabral—who helped create advertising classics such as Cadbury “Gorilla” and Sony “Balls”—to make the spot “feel like entertainment more than advertising,” Cassis added.

“Just like with ‘Proudly Second Best’ from Ikea or ‘Confusing Times’ from Burger King, we saw the opportunity to put the product front and center by connecting it to a universal human truth,” Cassis said. “And that’s always an unbeatable combo.”

Credits

Date
Jan 12, 2024
Client :
Netflix Spain
Client :
Netflix
Agency :
David-Madrid
Global CCO & Partner :
Pancho Cassis
Global COO :
Sylvia Panico
Chief Creative Officer :
Saulo Rocha
Managing Director :
María García Herranz
Creative Director :
Jose Sancho
Copywriter :
Mario Carrillo
Copywriter :
Jaime Ludeña
Copywriter :
Agustín Aiassa
Art Director :
Andrea Garcia
Art Director :
Julian Tedesco
Head of Production :
Alejandro Falduti
Production Assistant :
Amor Vidiella
Head of Account :
Lucila Mengide
Account Director :
Adriana González Cid
Account Executive :
Jesús Merino
Head of Strategy :
Daniela Bombonato
Strategy Director :
Gabriella Teixeira
Strategist :
Maru Gougy
Global PR Director :
Sandra Azedo
Manager Marketing Series :
Susana Pastor
Marketing Production Manager :
Alexandra Martin
Marketing Director :
Ander Echezarreta
Senior Marketing Director :
Manuel Román
Film Production :
MJZ
Director :
Juan Cabral
Executive Producer :
Lindsay Turnham
Executive Producer :
Flora Fernandez Marengo
Producer :
Nicolas Abelovich
DOP :
Javier Julia
Production Manager :
Pat Rzeznik
Art Director :
Charly Carnota
Wardrobe Stylist :
Sol Montalvo
Makeup & Hair :
Laura Delbosco
Editor :
Emiliano Fardaus
VFX :
Rojo Studio
Color Grading :
Alejandro Lescano
Music :
Fede Cabral
Sound Design :
Bamba Music
Dubbing :
Pickle Studio
VFX Sup :
Jonathan Monroig
VFX Coordinator :
Ariadna Ortiz
Conform & Deliveries :
Isla Post House
Post Supervision :
Julieta Fernández Castagnino
Music Company and Publisher :
Pickle Music
Final Mix :
Pickle Music
Sound Engineer :
Agustín Sebastián
Talent Recording :
Jacinto González
Producer :
Ana Ortiz Wienken
Executive Producer :
Olivia López

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