HBO Warrior
This Isn’t China, This Is Chinatown
Inspired by the writings of Bruce Lee, Warrior is set in 1870s San Francisco Chinatown, where rival gangs brutally battle each other for control. Executive Producers Justin Lin and Lee’s daughter Shannon brought this action-packed drama to life in a new series for Cinemax.
HBO approached us to help them drive awareness and tune-in among Asian Americans both pre- and post-premiere. To achieve this, we hosted select screenings and orchestrated multiple immersive, experiential events.
Kicking It Off
With over 3 million spectators, San Francisco’s Chinese New Year parade is one of the world’s largest, and we made sure Warrior was a part of it.
To build excitement and awareness for the show’s forthcoming premiere, we set up a 360° photo booth where visitors could take interactive photos with their friends and upload them directly to their social media accounts.
The World of Warrior
For the launch of Warrior, we transformed General Lee’s, a popular historic bar in the heart of Chinatown Los Angeles, into 1870s Chinatown. Guests were transported to the dangerous and seductive streets of San Francisco Chinatown for an exciting night full of surprises.
The night was packed with celebrities, talent, directors, artists, musicians, and influencers—including Warrior actor Rich Ting, Chris Pang and Remy Hii from Crazy Rich Asians, YouTube stars Philip Wang of Wong Fu Productions, and Andrew Fung of Fung Brothers.
A kung fu stunt fight kicked off the night, blurring the lines of entertainment and reality with even Shannon Lee getting into the action. Immersive theatre actors mingled and engaged with guests, who were branded at the entrance as one of the two rival tongs (or gangs). Characters ranging from tong members to cops to barmaids and gamblers—pulled straight from the time period in full attire—roamed around as guests were served old-fashioned cocktails, dim sum, and steamed baos from Eddie Huang's Baohaus.
Depending on which characters guests interacted with, they were given clues and tasks—such as trying to “show their worth” by arm wrestling a tong member or assisting the Madame on an “illegal molasses deal” by finding hidden clues.
We wrote a total of 5 distinct storylines, all leading to guests earning wooden tokens that unlocked exclusive prizes, which included our collab merch with Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Collection, Chinatown chopsticks, and off-menu, specialty fire-lit cocktails.
Bella Fiasco from Dim Mak Records DJed throughout the night with a special musical performance by NIKI from 88rising.
