Squid Game's iconic doll takes over Fahrenheit88 to celebrate show's renewal

Netflix Malaysia unveiled a massive "Red Light, Green Light" doll for a day outside Fahrenheit88 to celebrate the renewal of its Korean original series Squid Game. Also known as Young-hee, the doll was activated from 9 am to 11 pm yesterday where shoppers could play a game of Red Light, Green Light. Netflix Malaysia's Instagram post also showed individuals playing the traditional Korean game of ddakji. A+M understands that The Chariot Agency and C27 were involved in the activation. Netflix declined to comment further on marketing strategies for the second season of Squid Game.

The announcement of Squid Game's renewal was made by director, writer, and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk at the grand finale of the Netflix FYSEE event in Los Angeles on 12 June. Additionally, Hwang penned a letter teasing the potential return of Gi-hun, the Front Man, and “the man in the suit with ddakji" (a traditional South Korean game), as well as the introduction of a new character, which was then shared across Netflix's social media channels.

Netflix's Korean original series, Squid Game took the world by storm when it was released on last September, ranking second on Netflix's global top 10 charts in less than a week, according to The Korea Times. The series revolves around players who would have to play high stake rounds in deadly versions of childrens' games. As the series continued to gain popularity, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw brands across Asia joining in the fun to trendjack the series with localised #Squidgames promotions. Among the brands that got creative with the series was RapidKL.

RapidKL drew inspiration from one of the iconic scenes in the series to stir up chatter among netizens on social media and promote its transportation card. RapidKL posted a video clip on Facebook showing two men playing ddakji, a popular game among children in South Korea played using folded paper tiles. The loser in the video ends up getting "slapped" by the other individual. Along with the video is the caption: "Are you still using tokens to ride the train? It’s easier to use our card!" 

This scene was similar to the one in Squid Game, where an unnamed character played by actor Gong Yoo approaches the protagonist at a train station to ask if he would like to play a game of ddakji. The protagonist will receive a reward of 100,000 won if he is able to flip over the unnamed character's tile. If the protagonist loses, he gets slapped by the unnamed character. 

Additionally, Sunway Pyramid collaborated with Netflix last year to recreate the iconic scene from the "Red light Green Light" segment in Squid Game. Customers who visited the mall would be greeted by the infamous Squid Game doll, with pink officers guarding the entrances. On the ground, customers could look out for these pink officers to receive an "invitation" to obtain rewards such as special deals, privileges, and gifts from retailers in the mall. Among the list of participating retailers included Laneige, Mr Dakgalbi, Sulwhasoo, THE FACE SHOP and innisfree. Loo Hoey Theen, GM of marketing and deputy head of business innovation, Sunway Mall told A+M then that since the activation, Sunway Pyramid had seen an overall increase of close to 10% of footfall as compared to the same day last week, bearing in mind that it is not the weekend yet. Additionally, the footfall around the activation area increased by 15%, she said

Related articles:
Sunway Pyramid's Squid Game activation draws 10% increase in footfall in a day
Yes, more brands jump on Netflix's Squid Game hype
RapidKL jumps on Squid Game hype train by using iconic scene for card promo
Netflix's 'Squid Game' gets brands in a frenzy with their own marketing games