Netflix premiered The Irishman with an all-star cast that brought together the best of gangster cinema by the most iconic director of this genre: Martin Scorsese. The Irishman is a classic gangster movie that depicts violence, murder and political corruption—all delicate and sensitive subjects—in the most graphic and realistic ways possible on film. Gangster films may not appeal to everyone, so we wanted to create an experiential buzz around the movie with people who may not have been familiar with the film previously and those that may have not seen the release publicity online. Our challenge was to create a relevant cultural moment that could boost the hype around the film and convey the spirit of the film without going into sensitive or controversial issues.

The strategy was to create an activation that would attract the attention of the Argentinian public for the release of The Irishman on Netflix. The all-star cast and the iconic director got people talking, but we wanted to create a relevant cultural moment that would boost hype around the film and drive viewers to stream it on Netflix. While our activation was live, news of the submerged cabs traveled quickly, bringing people down to the river to view the installation and take photos. Rooftop signs on the submerged cabs served as a call to action promoting the film on Netflix.

We created four cabs identical to the ones that appear in the film and outfitted them to float for ten days in the water of Puerto Madero docks in Buenos Aires, one of the most visited neighborhoods in the city in the most populous city in Argentina. To complete the scene, we placed an additional cab on the dock and a mannequin depicting a gangster pushing a cab to the river (replicating the action in the film). The cabs floated for 10 days, generating massive public exposure, tons of earned media, and millions of pictures and videos shared across social media.

The activation reached more than 83,500 people per day, making the river installation a highly effective medium for promoting the film in Buenos Aires and the rest of Argentina. The cabs—and The Irishman Netflix release—made headlines and local news during the 10-day activation.