Netflix announces Frank Underwood is running for president during the Republican debate
As the fifth Republican presidential debate took place on CNN, Netflix chose to make a political announcement of its own when it ran the first trailer for the fourth season of its prized original series, House of Cards.
The ad saw Kevin Spacey reprise his role as president Frank Underwood to announce his running for a second term in the White House.
It’s a new day in America. #FU2016 https://t.co/0AcBefiby5
— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) December 16, 2015
It was accompanied by a social campaign across both Netflix and the show’s Instagram and Twitter channels with the #FU2016 hashtag and a dedicated website for the spoof campaign, fu2016.com.
Netflix teased the announcement in the hours leading up to the fifth Republican presidential debate with a tweet from the House of Cards twitter account saying “BREAKING NEWS: President Underwood will be making a special announcement tonight during the #GOPDebate.”
BREAKING NEWS: President Underwood will be making a special announcement tonight during the #GOPDebate.
— House of Cards (@HouseofCards) December 15, 2015
The spoof political ad shows images of success across America while a narrator says 'It’s a new day in America. Today more people will go to work, return home to their families and sleep more soundly than ever before – all because one man refuses to settle, putting people before politics. That man is Frank Underwood.'
Kevin Spacey also shared the ad from his own personal account, tweeting in character: “If you don’t like how the table is set, turn it over. Welcome to my campaign.”
As increasingly become the trend, Netflix will release all 13 episodes of fourth season on 4 March.