How Netflix’s ‘Strong Black Summer’ Campaign Formalized Black Hollywood’s Cultural Calendar
Angelique Jackson It might officially be fall, but Netflix had a “Strong Black Summer.” At least, that was the name of the streamer’s warm-weather months campaign promoting a string of TV, film and documentary projects fronted by Black talent. Among the hot titles were Gabrielle Union’s rom-com “The Perfect Find,” the John Boyega-starring conspiratorial caper “They Cloned Tyrone,” a fourth season of the Emmy-nominated comedy “The Upshaws,” comedian Michelle Buteau’s semi-autobiographical series “Survival of the Thickest,” the “Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop” documentary, and a first look at awards contenders “Stamped from the Beginning” and “Rustin.” “The goal of ‘Strong Black Summer’ was to generate conversation and create community with Black consumers and partners,” says Netflix’s Shelly Gillyard, vice president of marketing in the U.S.