Netflix unleashed 10,000 Squid Game Pink Guards on 50-plus cities for season 2

Founders, the independent agency founded by Tanya De Poli and Checha Agost Carreño, had already launched more than 20 Netflix titles; the sequel to the platform's biggest show demanded the biggest swing yet.

Over 10,000 Pink Guards from the series appeared in more than 50 cities worldwide at once, turning the real world into the show's playground.

Local agencies and partners staged the guard takeovers market by market, keeping one iconic image — the masked Pink Guard — consistent across all of them. The invasion hit social media and went viral worldwide within hours.

97.2 billion views and 13.47 billion impressions — Netflix's largest title social campaign ever; the show hit #1 in over 94 countries, and more than 40 brands joined the conversation through partnerships with Squid Game.

For the launch of Squid Game 2, Netflix unleashed the Pink Guards: over 10,000 of the show's masked, teal-suited enforcers appeared in more than 50 cities worldwide, with local agencies and partners collaborating to bring the activations to life in each market. The campaign, 'The Pink Guards Invasion', was led by Founders, the independent agency that began working with Netflix four years ago.

The invasion went viral worldwide within hours of hitting social media. According to industry press, it became one of the most iconic campaigns of modern marketing, turning the show into a global cultural phenomenon: 97.2 billion views, 13.47 billion impressions — Netflix's largest title social campaign ever — a #1 showing in over 94 countries, and more than 40 brands joining the conversation through strategic partnerships with Squid Game.

'There's no magic formula for making a title a worldwide success. Each one requires a unique combination of strategy, creativity, and production,' said Tanya De Poli, founder and CEO of Founders. 'At Founders, we build a different team for every project, depending on the specific needs of each show or film.' Her cofounder, CCO Checha Agost Carreño, said every Netflix brief asks for ideas that 'leave no one indifferent' — concepts that become part of culture, 'something that often gets asked for, but doesn't always happen.'

One image, infinitely replicated: the Pink Guard suit is recognizable in a single glance, so every city takeover fed the same global feed.

Federated execution — local partners staging takeovers in each market — bought the scale of a global campaign at local-activation cost.

Simultaneity made it news: appearing in 50-plus cities at once is an invasion, not a street team, which is why it went viral within hours.

The staging gave partner brands a world to join — more than 40 signed on, compounding the campaign's reach.

For a known fictional world, scale is the creative act: seeding one iconic image through 50 local stages simultaneously turns a launch into an invasion.

Founders has continued to expand its Netflix relationship, leading launches for titles including Happy Gilmore 2, Stranger Things 4, Queen Charlotte, One Piece, Umbrella Academy 4, Cobra Kai, The Adam Project, The Witcher S2 & S3 and Resident Evil — more than 20 titles in all — and is working on new launches that remain confidential.