History Of The World, Part II: The Experience
- Brand
- Hulu
- Year
- 2023
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Mini-Games
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Monks
Objective
Hulu's sketch-history sequel arrived 42 years after Mel Brooks' original film, and the brand needed to pull in both nostalgic fans of the 1981 movie and a new audience who'd never heard of it. Rather than run another trailer, Hulu let people step inside the show's humor before the premiere, using the promise of prizes to convert casual clickers into Hulu viewers.
Solution
Mel Brooks narrates as the player clicks and drags through a comic timeline of human history, starting at "The Big Burp" (a spoof of the Big Bang) and poking, scrubbing, and tapping animated scenes to nudge the story forward. Every so often the timeline drops into a quick arcade challenge based on a sketch from the show — catching falling pugs in Noah's Dog Park, dodging incoming objects in Galileo Galil-ay!, climbing Kublai Khan's family tree, or brawling through the Big Boss Battle. Cast voices from Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, and Nick Kroll punctuate the ride alongside Brooks. Players can skip straight to Arcade Mode for just the mini-games, browse Bonus Content, or hit Watch Show to jump to Hulu; finishing a run enters them into a sweepstakes for prizes including an Xbox console. The same build ran as a free Xbox app, where watching the linked video clips through to the end was itself the entry mechanic.
Results
The game was launched over 173,000 times across desktop, mobile, and Xbox in its first live weekend. The campaign generated more than 17.5 million impressions, 3 million above its target. On Xbox, 84.7% of viewers watched videos to completion, well above the app's 67% benchmark. The sweepstakes drew 37,000 unique entries.
- 1
Before the experience begins, the player hits an age gate asking whether they are 18 or older, with Yes/No buttons to proceed.
- 2
The experience opens with Mel Brooks narrating a comedic creation myth: instead of the Big Bang, a "Big Burp" of belching, farting characters brings the universe into being.
- 3
From there the player drives a comedic tour of human history — from cavemen to the present day — by clicking and gesturing through animated vignettes, each interaction unlocking the next scene in the timeline. Characters voiced by cast members Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes, and Nick Kroll pop up between scenes with historical jokes and commentary.
- 4
The tour is broken up by simple arcade-style mini-games tied to specific sketches: catching falling pug dogs in "Noah's Dog Park," dodging falling objects in a gravity gag called "Galileo Galil-ay!," climbing Kublai Khan's family tree, and a Street Fighter-style boss fight called "Big Boss Battle."
- 5
A menu lets the player jump into Arcade Mode — a mini-games-only mode reached through a warning that current progress will be lost — or open Bonus Content, restart the Experience, or switch to an accessibility version, the last of these also warning that it restarts the Experience from the beginning.
- 6
Completing the experience surfaces a sweepstakes link where the player submits their information to enter a free prize draw, open to US/DC residents 18 and older; 27 winners, including a new Xbox console, are chosen by random drawing among valid entries and notified by email.
- 7
Xbox owners have an alternate entry point: a free downloadable console build of the experience, built around a watch-to-win mechanic centered on video playback rather than the browser version's click-through vignettes.
- 8
A "Watch Show" button lets the player leave the experience at any point to stream History of the World, Part II on Hulu.
