the umbrella academy
SEASONS 1-3 | SHORTY AWARD WINNER | IG: 3.6M | TW: 794K
The year was 2004. My Chemical Romance released the music video for I'm Not Okay (I Promise). I was 12 and primed for a lifelong obsession. Cut to 2017 when the opportunity came my way to run social for The Umbrella Academy, an adaptation for MCR frontman Gerard Way's beloved comic series. What followed was the construction of my absolute favorite fandom. Millions of lovable and creative weirdos gathered on our pages to obsess together over the world's most sensitive superheroes. Over 3 seasons, my team and I summoned a seemingly endless stream of one-of-a-kind work. In-world scripted social content, tons of bespoke art, and unrivaled attention to detail in community management. Brellies for life, baby.
S3 KEY ART | A huge first for my team and I, after working on the social and character creative for so long, we were granted the opportunity to craft the S3 key art. Our cross-functional team worked to concept, sketch, creative direct, and design the final pieces.
S3 NOW STREAMING | My team concepted & directed the cast of Umbrella Academy in a series of assets that see our characters roaming the hallways of Hotel Oblivion.
S3 CHARACTER ART | Introducing 7 new characters to the fold is no simple task. We used our Insta grid as a full spread to showcase our heroes old and new as well as teasing their powers.
SPARROW TEASE ART | To play off the big buzz the new Sparrow Academy characters teased at the end of S2, we kicked off our campaign with just a bird's eye view of each new anti-hero.
S3 CHARACTER TEASES | Playing off the danger looming over our Brellies in S3, we teased fans with some "pecked" apart umbrellas and a peek at our characters new threads.
COMIC BOOK DAY '22 | Calling back to our graphic novel origins, we used Comic Book Day to tease a moment from Season 3. Partnering again with Gabriel Bá, we provided a scene for him to illustrate and hid them in comic book stories across the country.
S2 NOW STREAMING | Brace yourselves for the grooviest dance party ever thrown by ex-superheroes. To prime fans to enter the 60s with the Umbrella Academy we filmed a special dance piece with true Austin Powers energy at the S2 marketing shoot.
COMIC BOOK TRIBUTE | At the S2 marketing shoot, we grabbed something special for fans of the Umbrella Academy graphic novels. Lining up the siblings in academy uniforms, we mimicked a famous image from the comics, paying tribute to our origins while counting down to season 2.
S2 MONTAGE ART | We created a poster as chaotic as The Umbrella Academy to celebrate S2 launch weekend. Capturing the madness was no easy task but this collab between our team and design ended up being an all-time art piece for the series.
S2 AT HOME DATE ANNOUNCE | Marketing during the shutdown was an interesting time to say the least. But getting the chance to ask our cast to recreate a Season 1 dance sequence in their living rooms to announce Season 2 was a bright light in a dark time.
TIME WARP | Before fans knew where our Umbrella Academy landed in time after Season 1's cliffhanger, we scripted and shot a series of teases where our characters were stuck in a time warp wondering wtf was going on.
TIME TRAVEL GRID | As fans waited for the Season 2 trailer, we fed them bits and pieces of our new 60s timeline with teaser quotes, jello molds, and eye-popping character art.
TIME WARP IG FILTER | We gave fans the opportunity to step into our heroes' 60s shoes with a super-powered Instagram filter experience. Along with a chaotic promo video from our beloved Ben Hargreeves.
GERARD WAY SINGLE ART | We collaborated with comics illustrator Gabriel Bá to create animated single art to hype up Gerard's original song written for Season 2. A little something special for the fans.
REWATCH WITH FUNKOS | How better to relive fave moments from Season 1 than with the brand-new Umbrella Academy Funko dolls? Shot and choreographed in full-on DIY mode, this piece was a hit with fans.
MCR TRIBUTE THREAD | This one's just for me...and every other MCR fan. As an example of how niche and engaged our fanbase was, this Twitter thread paired lyrics from MCR's first album with every member of the Umbrella Academy. A total blast to write as well as an honor.
MCR REUNION TRIBUTE | In honor of My Chem's first reunion show in 2019, we used photos of Five Hargreeves and a handy mallet to pay tribute to their iconic music video for I'm Not Okay. A rare moment to celebrate with the fandom that helped build ours.
CONFESSIONS OF AN EX-SUPERHERO | Ahead of Season 1, we used the enigmatic character of Klaus Hargreeves to explain the ins and outs of his family. Well, in his point-of-view. A really fun one to script and creative direct and was a big hit with the fledgling fandom. It hit home our goal of a Wes Anderson meets Tim Burton tonality.
FIVE EXPLAINS | Understanding the world of the Umbrella Academy isn't exactly simple. Naturally, we used our most confusing character (a 58 year old man in the body of a 13 year old) to break it down on launch day.
AP PRESS SHOUTOUT | If you made it this far, please enjoy a badge of honor I carry with me daily. A shoutout from Alternative Press over an in-the-moment red carpet capture of Gerard Way beaming with cast on premiere night. This *forever* emo kid will never forget this moment.
Season 2 Campaign Reel