NYC

436 Lafayette Street, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10003

212.426.7006

L.A.

636 N. Almont Drive, Bungalow F

West Hollywood, CA 90069

424.777.0608

TruTV:

 

The Problem

 

With Apu

Cultural Insights for Marketing + Activation

Hari among a crowd of right-wing pundits, seemingly angry with him.
Hari among a crowd of right-wing pundits, seemingly angry with him.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu, creator/star of this documentary, confronts his long-standing “nemesis” Apu Nahasapeemapetilon – the Indian convenience store owner on The Simpsons.

While the film explores encounters with negative stereotypes, racial microaggressions and slurs against people of Indian and South Asian heritage, the truTV Marketing team asked us to help drive mainstream appeal and streaming views.

CATEGORIES:

APPROACH:
Framed against our monitoring of culture at large, we provided a detailed analysis of how The Problem with Apu could resonate in culture, tapping authentically into people of color and immigrant communities in order to spread the message to a wider audience.

RESULTS:

  • #1 most viewed premiere on truTV’s TV Everywhere platforms in its debut week
  • #1 most viewed program on the truTV app for three consecutive weeks after its on-air premiere
  • TPWA and related conversations covered by 50+ different news outlets including CNN, New York Times, Washington Post

Related Projects