Netflix is promoting its hit original series, "Orange is the New Black" with a relevant twist: a food truck that passes out desserts to hungry fans.
While food trucks have been around for a while, they haven't often been used in the marketing of a television series. This particular eatery comes with a side helping of clever. It's called Crazy Pyes after the show's character "Crazy Eyes," portrayed by Uzo Aduba.
In addition to pie, People has reported that the truck will also be dispensing soft serve ice cream. Both of these desserts are references to the show, as "chocolate and vanilla swirl" is a phrase associated with the character.
Initiatives like this, especially when done for a limited time, can work well because of the built-in audience ready to chase the truck around wherever it goes. It's crucial to leverage this excitement properly with appropriate truck decals that promote the brand while staying "in character," as it were.
According to a piece on Bustle written by Jenny Jaffe, Netflix has done similar strategies when promoting some of its other streaming-exclusive shows like "House of Cards" and the fourth season of "Arrested Development." In each case, success may depend on how close to the themes of the show the truck stays without completely losing the thread and appearing to be just another truck.
This same article proposed some other shows that could use their own spin-off food trucks, ranging from the obvious jokes (like "Hannibal") to some which seem halfway plausible (a "Bob's Burger's" truck would almost certainly appeal to many eager fans).
Tie-ins like this can be successful, but they need the correct truck lettering to be fully effective.