For certain people of a certain age, there will probably never be anything to replace or rival “Absolutely Fabulous,” the '90s-era British sitcom following the absurdly debauched doings of Patsy Stone and Edina Monsoon, two aging products of the free love '60s clinging to their lost youth with the help of ample amounts of drugs, alcohol, and frequent lunches at Harvey Nicks.
Now the decadent duo, played by Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders, respectively, are back on the big screen in “Absolutely Fabulous, The Movie,” in which Edina tries to breathe new life into her moribund public relations business by angling to represent supermodel Kate Moss. It's a profoundly bad move (literally) that sets in train the sort of degenerate chaos fans have come to expect.
To promote the movie, which is set to premiere in select markets on July 22, Fox Searchlight Pictures and its agencies, MoxieUSA and Brigade, partnered with LGBTQ publisher Q.Digital in order to reach AbFab’s core U.S. audience of gay men and those culturally adjacent to them.
The campaign centers on a total takeover of Q.Digital’s flagship site Queerty, with eye-catching creative, including a themed background, display ads linking to e-commerce with ticket sales, and — most prominently — an animated floating placement showing Patsy snorting a line of cocaine off the site’s logo at the top of the page.
Queerty hastens to explain that the irreverent creative is purely an homage to Lumley’s character: “This unique integration is in the spirit of the character of Patsy Stone, and "Absolutely Fabulous." Q.Digital and Queerty does not condone the use of illegal substances.” It could also be talcum powder.
In addition to the front-page takeover, the site offers readers the chance to download gifs with some characteristic one-liners from the movie.