In a time when viewers flick through countless movie posters and ads daily, simply displaying a celebrity’s face on a sign isn’t enough to turn heads. Netflix seems to get this.
To market its new sci-fi thriller The Last House, the internet streaming service transformed a regular billboard along Los Angeles’ well-known Sunset Boulevard into a human magnet: a furnished lounge room occupied by a real-life human. For nearly a week in August 2026 actor comedian and producer Nathan Shoop seemed to be ‘locked in’ a giant installation some 30 feet up one of Los Angeles’ most heavily traveled streets.
This bizarre campaign altered the billboard to take on the form of a tiny home, full with furniture books plants, curtains and a large window giving curious passers-by a view of the enigmatic resident. The stunt was designed to promote Netflix’s The Last House, a thriller rooted in a provocative question: how long could you survive if you found yourself suddenly and inescapably locked inside your own house?
We brought this concept directly to the everyday world in a startling real life way.
Beneath the window of the billboard there was a straightforward question for pedestrians”how long can you survive.” The individual standing behind the window had become the product itself, and as a result the film’s premise felt strangely authentic.
Rather than merely telling viewers what the program contained, this promotional stunt provided viewers with something to see in the sky above them. Shoop carried out common activities in an interesting way due to their context, often in ways which seemed more naturally entertaining than most advertising.
He snacked exercised watched the world go by with binoculars and listened to music. In some shots, one half of a pyjama and bathrobe ensemble gave the impression that the billboard was the outside of a real house rather than an advertising hoarding. As Shoop was unable to just walk outside and converse with his audience below, he had a whiteboard where he could talk to viewers.
His witty messages for the campaign provided an interactive approach and compelled visitors to pause, photograph and attempt to interpret the monitor. He became a sensation practically overnight. Observers claim people traveled to see the man in the billboard after seeing videos and tweets about the event. Amongst all of the other well know attractions, advertisements for movies, and spotting celebrities, Netflix managed to attract attention to something truly unique.
Maybe this is what is actually succeed in the campaign. The billboard was not required to reveal all the details of the film. Instead, the image of a man seemingly in residence inside a house shaped advertising hoarding, itself became the enigma.
Why was he there? How long could he remain? Was he actually imprisoned? These questions would inevitably lead viewers to seek out the film itself. The Last House features Greta Lee and Wagner Moura in a thriller that centers around a family of four being mysteriously trapped inside their own house. As time goes by, they run out of supplies but an unknown danger from outside prevents them from getting away.
