Netflix has been campaigning hard to win its original shows (especially House of Cards) some Emmy awards.
Last week, reports came out that Netflix was having a Freddy’s BBQ truck delivering free lunch to influential players. Freddy’s BBQ is a place on House of Cards where Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood often eats ribs. The Hollywood Reporter, for example, wrote:
The most competitive Emmy race in history got another dose of campaign stunt work on Monday when Netflix, which has two hot contenders in the race — House of Cards for drama series and Arrested Development for comedy series — delivered a BBQ lunch to the offices of The Hollywood Reporter. The lunch, earmarked for staffers who cover the shows, included an announcement that Cards’ fictional BBQ joint Freddy’s would be operating food trucks around Los Angeles this week, and ATAS voters would be eligible for a free meal upon presentation of their membership cards.
The campaigning didn’t stop with free BBQ, however. Deadline reported on Monday that Netflix has been going door-to-door in “upscale neighborhoods with high concentration of TV Academy voters” offering yard signs (as if it were a political campaign) for House of Cards and Arrested Development. Click over to Deadline to see what they look like. According to the site, homeowners are being offered a choice of a six-month Netflix subscription, a a $50 donation to the Red Cross in their name, or a $50 AmEx Gift Card.
Clearly Netflix wants the television world to know that it is serious about its original programming, and wants to be recognized for that fact.
Emmy ballots due on June 28th.