Which 'Bridgerton' teh do you fancy? Asks Netflix SG in social post

A new drama series titled “Bridgerton” has recently gained much popularity on streaming platform Netflix in the Singapore market. Telling the tale of eight siblings looking for love and happiness in the London high society (Think Gossip Girl in the Regency era), the show, which was released late last year quickly shot up the Top 10 ranking in the Singapore. It is currently the third most-watched series on Netflix.  

In a bit to further promote the series, Netflix Singapore took to its Instagram account to illustrate the characters in Bridgerton as different teas - a product England is famous for - Singaporeans can find at the kopitiam (coffee shop). The localised marketing stunt included tongue-in-cheek descriptions for the characters. This included comparing Duke Hastings to Teh-O Kosong (tea with no milk and sugar) with the description “a tall, dark, hot glass is exactly what you need to perk you up”, as well as comparing Eloise to Teh Halia (tea with ginger) with the caption “too spicy for you”. 

Check out what kind of tea your favourite character is here:

Netflix's cheeky post garnered the attention of many netizens, with 987 likes in less than a day. Most netizens also left positive comments, with one saying that the creator of the post did a good job, and another joining in the fun and comparing Duke Hastings to Teh-O Gao (a thicker version of tea without milk).

Netflix, in Singapore, is known for its humour and wit through its social posts on original content - something it has been ramping up on aggressively since 2012 across programming categories and countries with an ambition to "share stories from the world to the world". English-scripted TV series, which was started more than seven years ago, saw great success in the third quarter of 2019. This include titles such as Stranger Things season three, the most watched season to date with 64 million member households in its first four weeks; and limited series Unbelievable, one of its most highly-viewed dramas with 32 million member households in its first 28 days.

The streaming giant, which actively pushes its original content through its previews and in-app notifications, also relies on social media marketing and branded editorial to help the company grab a spot at forefront of pop-culture. According to an article by Fast Company published in 2019, the company is able to do so at speed because it doesn’t have a “strict approval process for social posts” but rather establishes broad guidelines which looks to entertain rather than promote. In Singapore, Netflix has also previously taken a local spin of its shows. In 2017, it created a promotional clip of its popular series Stranger Things featuring Singapore's neighbourhood Yishun, which was known for unusual happenings during that period of time. In the one-minute spot, many local items were included such as a void deck, taxi, and HDB flats.

Besides Netflix, other local brands have also tapped on its shows for their own marketing stunts. Last year, Singtel's digital mobile brand GOMO posted a social ad with a tongue-in-cheek reference to Indian Matchmaking. The ad is seen to promote GOMO's offering, and showed one of GOMO's characters, Zenmo, in a meditative position with the title being "Telco Matchmaking". It then describes the four criteria for the matchmaking to happen. In a similar fashion, multiple brands in Singapore and Malaysia also trend-jacked the hype of Netflix's Emily in Paris, where they photoshopped the scene of Emily taking a selfie into various backgrounds.  

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