Netflix’s Extraction 2 billboards let you feel Chris Hemsworth’s sweat

Extraction 2 is currently streaming on Netflix, and the sequel is even better than the original, at least in my opinion. Without spoiling it, I’ll remind you that Extraction 2 delivers an amazing one-shot sequence that’s worth seeing. The scene took several months to film, and all that jaw-dropping action made me realize how amazing it’ll look on Apple’s Vision Pro.

While many Netflix subscribers flocked to see Extraction 2 the weekend it came out, Netflix is still heavily promoting the film. That includes the use of extraordinary posters that will let you feel Chris Hemsworth’s sweat. Well, it’s just water, but it’s made to look like sweat.

Hemsworth’s character, Tyler Rake, is sweating a lot in Extraction 2, and that’s the only spoiler I’ll mention. That’s understandable, given the kind of action he has to go through. Anyone else would do the same in his shoes.

But Netflix wanted to convey to subscribers that Extraction 2 is an action-packed sequel worth seeing. That’s why it went for this unexpected type of movie poster that lets you feel the main character sweating. Again, it sounds icky, but it’s just water.

According to Variety, Netflix used this interactive poster in New York City and Los Angeles. Rather than placing them up high, the “sweaty billboards are set up on sidewalks so passersby can spot the sweat coming out of Hemsworth’s face and touch it.

The technology powering the sweaty Extraction 2 posters is quite simple. The creators used lasers to cut holes into Hmesworth’s character’s forehead to replicate pores. Then water supply from behind the billboard feeds into those holes. The pressure and frequency mirror the consistency of sweat. You can see how it works in the following Instagram video:

“The movie is adrenaline-packed,” Netflix’s chief marketing officer Marian Lee told Variety. “We really think about testing new things. We have traditional billboards, too. But the sweaty billboards were great.”

“Fans want elements where they can interact,” she added. “They want to interact with talent. But they want to participate with interactive and photographable moments. It’s really important to have tangible things that fans can do.”

Netflix couldn’t pull a similar trick with the first Extraction installment, as that movie dropped in April 2020, right at the height of the COVID pandemic.

As Variety points out, Netflix can’t measure how many people saw Extraction 2 because of the sweaty billboards. But the film was the most-viewed title of the week when it premiered, with 42.8 million people watching it during the first three days.

Netflix is already working on Extraction 3, which will surely make use of similar out-of-the-box marketing ideas.