To celebrate the highly anticipated premiere of The Testaments, a new chapter in the world of The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu is bringing a story-driven, one-day interactive street takeover to SXSW this year. Fans can witness a first-look into the world of the series with an immersive activation that stops along Austin’s popular streets. The experience centers around the purple bus, known in the series as Aunt Lydia’s prep school bus, where Plums in full costume handing out mini pies with cryptic messages tucked inside to draw attendees into the show’s universe. We’d love to work on a story with you about how Hulu is creating this in-world experience at SXSW to promote the upcoming series.
On March 16th, Aunt Lydia’s purple prep-school bus will serve as the centerpiece to kick off the activation in Austin. At each stop, a group of Plums will disembark in a single-file line, holding out mini pies. A supervising Plum will direct the flow of the Plums and once she rings the bell, it will initiate the Plums to start the pie handout. Each pie is a wrapped, rare Bumbleberry combination of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. As the Plums deliver the pies, they bow their heads and bestow a blessing to each recipient.
Hidden on the bottom of each pie’s tin, lies a secret cryptical message reading “Things Are Not What They Seem”, inviting attendees to scan a QR code and further interact with the experience. After two sharp rings, the Plums fall back into formation, re-board the bus, and head to the next stop.
The activation will hit three timed spots in Austin to maximize high visibility to passersby:
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12:30–1:30 PM: South Congress Ave | 100 Elizabeth Street
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4:30–5:30 PM: W 4th Street | SXSW Closure
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6:30–7:30 PM: 500 Brazos Street | Near E 6th Street
This SXSW moment serves as the official kickoff of a larger multi-city experiential tour, with additional immersive takeovers planned for Los Angeles and New York.
ABOUT THE TESTAMENTS.
An evolution of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Testaments is a dramatic coming-of-age story set in Gilead. The series follows young teens Agnes (Chase Infiniti), dutiful and pious, and Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a new arrival and convert from beyond Gilead’s borders. As they navigate the gilded halls of Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) elite preparatory school for future wives, a place where obedience is instilled brutally and always with divine justification, their bond becomes the catalyst that will upend their past, their present, and their future.
