The One Show
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Discover Your Future
Agency Netflix / Los Angeles + Wieden+Kennedy / Portland + Prettybird / Los Angeles + Trim Editing / London
Category
Trailers & Teasers
Annual ID
OS26_MI085M
Background
To build excitement around Netflix’s unreleased 2026 slate, we set out to create something that could stand out among the traditionally bland sizzle reels that streamers release this time of year, something as ambitious and thoughtfully crafted as the films and shows we were promoting. That meant casting the real characters from these titles and demanded an idea that could make sense of putting Thomas Shelby next to Elmo next to Enola Holmes. To earn the credibility of fans, our ad for Netflix’s films and shows needed to feel like a Netflix film.
The brief also called for strategically launching the film one week after Stranger Things ended. After 10 years of a fan favorite show coming to an end, fans were left wondering “What Next?” Netflix had the opportunity to both acknowledge the headspace fans were in and answer their question about the coming year.
The brief also called for strategically launching the film one week after Stranger Things ended. After 10 years of a fan favorite show coming to an end, fans were left wondering “What Next?” Netflix had the opportunity to both acknowledge the headspace fans were in and answer their question about the coming year.
Creative Idea
New Years is a time when people naturally question their future: What’s my resolution? Will I find love? Change my career? Adopt a dog? Paired with the ending of a fan favorite like Stranger Things, we anticipated a cultural moment defined by reflection and uncertainty…a collective sense of wondering about the future.
With this in mind, we began to see the 2026 slate as moments in fans’ futures, a future only Netflix knows. This sparked the idea of Netflix as a fortune teller, an insight that offered a magical visual world while allowing the brand to speak personally to the viewer.
From there, Tarot became the perfect device. It encouraged curiosity about the year ahead while reinforcing Netflix’s tagline, “What Next?”. In the beginning of the film, our hero looks like a deer in headlights, even clinging to the tablecloth in fear of what’s next. But in the end, after a journey filled with ups and downs, her eyes are full of wonder and she can't wait for what’s next. The film aimed to resonate with a feeling fans were having at the time, and push them towards a more curious 2026.
Tarot also solved a structural challenge, uniting vastly different titles under one cohesive theme. A tarot deck is made up of many individual cards full of their own meaning, much like how Netflix is made up of individual films and shows with their own, rich stories. Each turn of the card invited our hero into a new world, and allowed us to create an Inception-like dynamic between the cards and the worlds within them.
In all, the Tarot idea turned the 2026 slate into a theme that could resonate globally, with a voice that could cut through personally.
With this in mind, we began to see the 2026 slate as moments in fans’ futures, a future only Netflix knows. This sparked the idea of Netflix as a fortune teller, an insight that offered a magical visual world while allowing the brand to speak personally to the viewer.
From there, Tarot became the perfect device. It encouraged curiosity about the year ahead while reinforcing Netflix’s tagline, “What Next?”. In the beginning of the film, our hero looks like a deer in headlights, even clinging to the tablecloth in fear of what’s next. But in the end, after a journey filled with ups and downs, her eyes are full of wonder and she can't wait for what’s next. The film aimed to resonate with a feeling fans were having at the time, and push them towards a more curious 2026.
Tarot also solved a structural challenge, uniting vastly different titles under one cohesive theme. A tarot deck is made up of many individual cards full of their own meaning, much like how Netflix is made up of individual films and shows with their own, rich stories. Each turn of the card invited our hero into a new world, and allowed us to create an Inception-like dynamic between the cards and the worlds within them.
In all, the Tarot idea turned the 2026 slate into a theme that could resonate globally, with a voice that could cut through personally.
Insights & Strategy
For entertainment companies, the beginning of the year is traditionally when the slate–or list of content to be released–drops. This moment is a crowded one, filled with near-identical clips from upcoming shows and movies. Netflix needed a way to stand out, getting fans excited not just about new titles, but about the brand itself.
So instead of focusing on what this time of year means for the industry, they tapped into a universal consumer truth: the beginning of the year is synonymous with horoscopes, new year’s resolutions, and bucket lists. Across the world, people can’t help but daydream about what the future has in store for them. Netflix can’t predict where people will travel or what they’ll accomplish in the new year, but Netflix can predict what the world will be watching (and obsessing over, and talking about) in 2026.
So instead of focusing on what this time of year means for the industry, they tapped into a universal consumer truth: the beginning of the year is synonymous with horoscopes, new year’s resolutions, and bucket lists. Across the world, people can’t help but daydream about what the future has in store for them. Netflix can’t predict where people will travel or what they’ll accomplish in the new year, but Netflix can predict what the world will be watching (and obsessing over, and talking about) in 2026.
Execution
In the four-minute epic, our Tarot reader, Teyana Taylor, sends Alma on a journey through ten Netflix worlds, where she meets iconic characters from across the slate. From a Bridgerton ballroom to Tommy Shelby’s criminal underworld to Enola Holmes and Elmo, the film shows that on Netflix, you’ll discover a future you could have never predicted.
Visually, we wanted to capture the drama of a single card flip unleashing an entire universe. Because Tarot is tactile by nature, we wanted that physicality to come through in every transition. Our director and production designer made real (incredible) builds a priority. And they built A LOT. The Bridgerton ballroom sat on a rotating stage that physically tipped; the tarot room was constructed in both full and quarter scale to spin and tilt practically; even the hallway was engineered to push our hero forward on a literal wave.
To give the film an iconic score, our music house remixed the Velvet Underground classic “Sunday Morning”, taking it from the twee original that we hear playing from the shop’s speakers at the beginning to a sometimes epic, sometimes eerie, re-imagining of the track.
Our illustrator developed a stunning visual system for the cards, paying homage to traditional tarot card compositions and symbolism, but replacing them with icons and characters from the Netflix titles.
We wanted to create a film that wasn’t just about scale and grandeur (though there’s a lot of that) but was also about one girl who goes from timid and unsure at the beginning of the film to confident and forward looking at the end. Through her, we showed that ‘What Next?’ can come from a place of uncertainty, but it can also come from a place of excitement about the future.
Visually, we wanted to capture the drama of a single card flip unleashing an entire universe. Because Tarot is tactile by nature, we wanted that physicality to come through in every transition. Our director and production designer made real (incredible) builds a priority. And they built A LOT. The Bridgerton ballroom sat on a rotating stage that physically tipped; the tarot room was constructed in both full and quarter scale to spin and tilt practically; even the hallway was engineered to push our hero forward on a literal wave.
To give the film an iconic score, our music house remixed the Velvet Underground classic “Sunday Morning”, taking it from the twee original that we hear playing from the shop’s speakers at the beginning to a sometimes epic, sometimes eerie, re-imagining of the track.
Our illustrator developed a stunning visual system for the cards, paying homage to traditional tarot card compositions and symbolism, but replacing them with icons and characters from the Netflix titles.
We wanted to create a film that wasn’t just about scale and grandeur (though there’s a lot of that) but was also about one girl who goes from timid and unsure at the beginning of the film to confident and forward looking at the end. Through her, we showed that ‘What Next?’ can come from a place of uncertainty, but it can also come from a place of excitement about the future.
Results
As Stranger Things came to a close, The What Next 2026 campaign drafted off of that energy to spark speculation and massive conversation about what was next for the brand. The campaign generated over 106 million impressions in its first week, taking over cultural conversations across Instagram, TikTok, X, and more. Across the world, fans were talking about the What Next campaign, with nearly 8 million impressions from the Netflix Brazil Instagram, over 5 million from Netflix Korea’s account, and another 15.4 million in influencer and creator amplification tactics as the brands sent creators to the Teyana Taylor Tarot Booth in New York City to experience it in person. And the campaign didn’t just dominate social media–the campaign launch delivered the biggest traffic day ever for Tudum.com, Netflix’s owned content hub. With 1.55m visits in the first 24 hours, the site saw a 3.5x increase in expected visits, a year over year increase in visits of 121%, and a 102% increase in hub visits compared to 2025’s campaign. What Next 2026 broke records and got fans buzzing about the future of Netflix. Some fans even thought that the ad was a teaser for a secret Stranger Things film to be released in the future.
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Wieden+Kennedy / Portland
Client / Brand
Netflix / Los Angeles
Production Company
PRETTYBIRD / Los Angeles
Post Production Company
Trim Editing / London
Art Director
Dov Annuse
Chief Creative Officer
Felipe Ribeiro
Chief Strategy Officer
Andy Lindblade
Copywriter
Brendan Brown
Design Director
David Trujillo
Designer
Luke Wilhelmi
Group Creative Director
Craig Williams
Lauren Ferreira
Strategy Director
Bruno Frankel
Global Group Strategy Director
Brandon Thornton
Head of Design
Bijan Berahimi
Sr. Designer
Dave Hagen
Linh-Yen Hoang
Sr. Producer
Fritha Reynolds-Dickie
Sr. Strategist
Rachita Vasan
Assistant Producer
Ella Timmons
Brand Director
Madeline Parker
Brand Manager
Eva Huang
Creative & Design Director
Jesse Green
Creative Coordinator
Paige Fitzmaurice
Creative Operations Manager
Cj Corey
Executive Business Affairs Manager
Kacey Kelley
Global Brand Production Manager
Juan Munoz
Karl Lunan
Global Creative Manager, Brand Creative Studio
Karen Zack
Noel Tantinya
Group Brand Director
Paige Brown
Group Design Producer
Scott Meisse
Head of Business Affairs
Edith Ortiz
Head of Comms
Jason Strickland
Head of Creative Operations
Christina Kim
Head of Design Studio & Operations
Alicia Kuna
Head of Global Brand Ops & Production
Kamey Butler
Head of Marketing Partnerships & Production
Meg Smith
Head of Production
Orlee Tatarka
Integrated Traffic Supervisor
Katie Hall
Lead Sr. Producer
Stephane Fevrier
Management Supervisor
Leila Chee
Manager, Brand Strategy, Brand Creative Studio
Midori McSwain
Manager, Design, Brand Creative Studio
Derek Vander Griend
Media Director
Emily Graham
President
Jason White
Sr. Brand Strategy Manager
Colin Parajon
Sr. Creative, Brand Creative Studio
Aarti Thiagarajan
Sr. Creator & Talent Partnerships Manager
Fadia Kader
Sr. Manager, Global Brand Management
Divya Reddy
VP Global Brand & Marketing Partnerships
Magno Herran
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