Bojack Horseman: A Transmedia Experience
The Bojack Horseman Transmedia experience is a combination of promotional marketing ending in a virtuall Bojack Horseman episode event taking place at a Netflix pop-up.
At a touring pop-up location, fans don VR goggles and explore a choose-your-own-adventure BoJack Horseman experience that gives a new level of insight into the subconscious of the show’s central character. The player, experiencing “Hollywoo” as BoJack on an average day, explores classic series locations, interacts with fan-favorite characters, and is faced with a series of darkly hilarious choices that reflect BoJack’s inimitable perspective on life. Long-running jokes as well as new ones (with at least a few taking jabs at the virtual reality fad) pop up throughout before the adventure comes to a poignant emotional close. Upon revision, the virtual reality aspect of the Bojack Horseman experience stands out as this project was completed prior to the announcement of the Metaverse. With the suddenly very real virtual world slowly working it’s way into reality, something like the Bojack Horseman experience does not seem particularly far fetched.
The idea of an “open” Bojack Horseman world is daunting but at the same time, throws open the door to virtual hyperdiagetic immersion. It’s not unreasonable to think that guests could enjoy a drink at Bellican’s Bar without ever seeing a character from the show.
This makes use of BoJack’s drillability, as it’s an informationally dense show with a litany of long-running jokes, recurring characters, etc. It also focuses on immersion into BoJack’s world.
This fictional website from Bojack Horseman can be a way for fans to parody their own ridiculous articles, quizzes and products from the show. GirlCroosh is parodying the media website Buzzfeed and other sugary-sweet media companies that use quizzes, celebrity interviews, and other eye catching gimmicks to draw users to their site. In addition to Fan made content, GirlCroosh will act as paratext for the VR experience and Bojack merchandise with customized ads based on user preferences.
GirlCroosh taps into fan’s performance, allowing fans to make accounts and post content to the website. The site is also both immersive for the users, drawing fans into the consumer-focused city Bojack grows to hate. With an online shop built into the website, visitors can buy Bojack merchandise like custom t-shirts or Bojack Daniels, tapping into the extractability of the Bojack Horseman series.
Bojack Daniels: Bojack Daniels is the proposed partner beverage to go along with the Bojack Horseman VR experience. Bojack Horseman’s struggle with alcoholism is given a serious treatment but his constant quips about drinking undeniably make whiskey a staple on the show.
The extension of a partner whiskey — the cleverly titled BoJack Daniels — allows for extractability and performance. Fans can take home a piece of the VR experience turning the virtual into reality. The specificity makes the item a novelty. Consider the buzz surrounding this BoJack para-drink if only a select few hundred were ever released.
Bojack Daniels whiskey allows for the creation of hype through stretched anticipation. Limited release of the whiskey drives exclusivity further fueling discussion of the event. Further driving hype is the possibility of forensic fandom. Bojack’s penchant for whiskey is a well known factor on the show, what’s to stop fans from speculating about how the whiskey might tie in to the virtual episode?
Furthermore, BoJack Daniels welcomes fan performance. Ordering a glass of BoJack Daniels in any LA bar is automatically a referential fan performance. Additionally, featuring fan submissions on the main instagram feed of fans drinking BoJack Daniels (responsibly) invites further performance. The small number of fans that can ever be featured is an exclusive group driving further engagement in the hopes of “making the Instagram story”.
