The Client and Their Brief
When Walker Agency came to us with the brief for Chupa Chups x Stranger Things, we knew this was going to be a little more involved than a straightforward product shoot.
The campaign brought together two hugely recognisable brands, with Chupa Chups creating a limited-edition Stranger Things range and Walker developing a social-first creative concept around it.
We have worked with Walker on a number of projects, so there was already a strong level of trust between the teams. For this campaign, they leaned on our production experience to help bring the creative idea to life, particularly around the physical sets, lighting and photography.
The content needed to work across social channels, with stills and video created as part of the same production. It also needed to capture the distinctive Stranger Things aesthetic while keeping Chupa Chups at the centre of the campaign.
What We Did
The creative called for three distinct environments inspired by the Stranger Things universe: a 1980s living room, a supermarket and a laboratory-style setting.
We worked closely with Walker Agency, our set builder and stylist to plan and create each environment, sourcing furniture, props and set dressing to give each location the right character.
The production took place over three days in our studio, with Walker handling much of the social-first video production while we supported the shoot through set production, lighting, stills photography and co-direction.
This collaborative approach allowed us to bring together different areas of expertise and create the stills and motion content as one cohesive campaign.
Turning the world upside down
One of the most important parts of the brief was creating the contrast between the familiar Stranger Things world and its darker, alternate dimension – the Upside Down.
Rather than building two versions of every set, we used lighting to transform the environments.
Warm, nostalgic lighting gave the first scenes their 1980s feel, before carefully controlled colour, shadows and atmosphere shifted the same spaces into something much darker and more unsettling.
It’s a relatively simple idea in principle, but getting that transformation to work convincingly required plenty of planning and experimentation on set.
This is where the craft of the production really mattered. The sets, props, lighting and camera work all needed to work together, while still leaving the Chupa Chups products clearly visible and engaging.
Stills and motion
The campaign was designed primarily for social, so the production needed to work particularly hard.
Walker created much of the video content in a POV style, while we worked alongside the team to make sure the sets and lighting translated effectively into motion.
We then captured stills within the same environments, creating a consistent visual language across the campaign.
Shooting both stills and motion as part of the same production also meant the creative could be developed as a complete content package rather than treating photography and video as separate exercises.
Campaign performance
The finished content became part of a wider global social campaign for Chupa Chups x Stranger Things.
Across the campaign, the social toolkit generated 16 million impressions and a 15.5% engagement rate.
It’s a great example of how strong creative, thoughtful production and close collaboration can turn an idea into content that connects with an audience.
You can read more about the wider campaign and Walker Agency’s role in their Chupa Chups x Stranger Things case study.
How It Looks
The Results
The finished campaign combined stills and social-first video to bring Chupa Chups into the Stranger Things universe, creating a playful visual world that felt authentic to the show while keeping the product front and centre.
The creative was signed off by Netflix and the Duffer Brothers, and the finished content was used across promotional, PR, web and print activity alongside social.
For us, it was another great example of the value of working as part of a trusted creative team. Walker brought the campaign concept and social expertise; we brought the production experience, technical craft and studio capability needed to turn that idea into something tangible.
And, perhaps most importantly, everyone involved had a lot of fun making it.
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