• by Danielle Oster , 11 hours ago

As viewers await the conclusion of Netflix’s popular supernatural horror series “Stranger Things,” a series of additional collaborative brand partnerships have continued rolling out.

The first round of brand collaborations for the fifth, and final, season of the show was initially dominated by its retail partnership with Target, but additional retailers including Primark and Walmart have since come on board as well, with Netflix also selling exclusive merchandise for the series via the Netflix Shop.

In addition to building anticipation for the series finale, the streaming service’s decision to release the final season in three installments, concluding with the series finale on New Year’ Eve, also appears to have provided more time for marketing campaigns as well. 

Since debuting nearly a decade ago, “Stranger Things” has been one of Netflix’s most successful original series, and its tendency to pay homage to 1980s culture (season five is set in 1987) provides an enticing opportunity for many brands to lean into the show’s 80s nostalgia with references to their own brand legacies. Target set an ad for its “Stranger Things” collaboration in a 1987 Target store, for example, while Gatorade launched a “Stranger Things” campaign which similarly channeled 1987 (including reviving old taglines, flavors, and a limited release of glass bottles).

Here are more noteworthy “Stranger Things” brand collaborations for season five:

Discover and Dr. Squatch

Discover’s Netflix partnership features two of the show’s main characters, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers. Across a series of ads, the characters are continually surprised by the types of items which the Discover Card provides cashback rewards for, as they stock up on supplies needed for prepare for the series’ final battle in Hawkins, Indiana.

Dr. Squatch, a personal care brand primarily marketed to men, launched a collaborative campaign promoting its “Stranger Things x Dr. Squatch Collection” of four limited-edition soaps and two deodorants. The campaign stars actor Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman. Leaning into that character’s penchant for conspiracy, the campaign shows Gelman exposing the chemical hazards of “Big Soap” while promoting the collection as a cleaner alternative in ads designed to evoke 1980s infomercials.

“The Murray Bauman character is chaotic with a level of truth-seeking humor, which was the perfect way to dramatize the message we’ve been championing for years,” John Ludeke, senior vice president of global marketing for Dr. Squatch, said in a statement. “Brett brought the same skepticism and curiosity we want guys to bring to their routines and the ingredients they’re putting on their skin.

The campaign is running across Dr. Squatch’s channels online, including organic and paid social, in the lead-up to the finale, and “beyond,” according to the brand.

Lego

The building block brand is releasing its largest-ever “Stranger Things” set for the series’ fifth season.

A 2,593-piece “Lego Icons Stranger Things: The Creel House” set will make its debut following the finale,  Jan. 1, initially available to LEGO Insiders, ahead of a retail release online and at LEGO stores beginning Jan. 4. To promote the launch of the set, which includes 13 minifigures of “Stranger Things” characters, the company is also offering an additional “Lego Icons Stranger Things: WSQK Radio Station” featuring Joyce and Hopper minifigures to customers who purchase the set from Jan. 1-7.

In a statement, “Stranger Things” creators Ross and Matt Duffer said they grew up “obsessed” with LEGO, and called seeing the series recreated in LEGO bricks “honestly surreal.”

Primark

There are no shortage of co-branded apparel releases for the final season of “Stranger Things,” with releases from brands and retailers including Crocs, Gap, Hot Topic, Nike, Wrangler, Walmart, and Zara.

Ireland-based fashion retailer Primark released not just one “Stranger Things” apparel collection, but five: one for each season of the series, including designs from “Stranger Things” poster designer Kyle Lambert, and a  Demogorgon Onesie. To promote the launch of the collections, Primark also transformed its Oxford Street East and West locations in London with activations designed to act as “immersive Upside Down” destinations for fans of the series.