Send In the Clowns! HBO Summoned Pennywise IRL to Promote Welcome to Derry… Then He Got Away

November 25, 2025

Stephen King’s IT was a literary landmark when the 1,138-page novel was published in 1986. Its terrifying antagonist, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, likewise became a cultural icon thanks to Tim Curry’s portrayal in the 1990 ABC miniseries adaptation. More recently, Bill Skarsgård put his own stamp on the horror icon for a new generation in a two-part motion picture adaptation that grossed nearly $1.2 billion at the box office (SOURCE: IMDB). The story still carried cultural salience three-plus decades later.

So this October, when HBO was gearing up to debut its IT: Welcome to Derry prequel series, the streamer decided to take Pennywise somewhere he’d never been before: real life.


In Los Angeles, Pennywise’s painted grin and signature red balloon loomed menacingly from wallscapes, traditional billboards with extensions, and transit shelters. In New York City, subway Liveboards were complemented by the The Cube at 2 Times Square, where Pennywise practically leapt off the screens through the magic of 3D creative and OUTFRONT XScape technology.


But maybe letting him leap off the screen wasn’t such a good idea, because a few days later, the red balloon sightings started. In Central Park. In front of Madrid’s Puerta de Alcalá. Beneath Sydney’s Harbour Bridge. Above Singapore’s abandoned Changi Hospital. In addition to the single red balloons without branding or logos left in creepy locations, the “Red Balloon Takeover” also included branded hot air balloons, series-themed characters, and even the occasional Easter egg.


Of course, where red balloons float, Pennywise is never far behind. And sure enough, the sinister shapeshifter began to show up in real life, scaring the hell out of people across five continents. In New York, he was spotted swinging Gene Kelly-style around a lamppost in front of the New York Public Library. In Türkiye, he was photographed in a hot air balloon. In Paris, he was caught crossing a bridge over the Seine.


Photo courtesy of HBO
Cut to West Hollywood, where our bus shelters have proven popular platforms for imaginative advertisers to think outside the box in the most literal sense. Brands can use extended creative with embellishments and props to immersive the audience in worlds like Mordor, setting of Amazon Prime’s big-budget Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power adaptation. This time around, the destination was Derry, and atop the shelter wrapped with promotional graphics was a life-sized, three-dimensional Pennywise sculpture, illuminated in red, balloon in hand.


But just three nights after the sculpture was installed, Pennywise vanished. Security footage revealed that three men had ripped it off and left with it. Nothing was left behind but a pair of clown shoes bolted onto the base. It was a body snatching Pennywise himself would have been proud of.


The next day, the HBO Max Instagram account shared a tongue-in-cheek MISSING poster, offering a reward for the clown’s return. “We already checked the sewers,” the streamer deadpanned.

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A post shared by HBO Max (@hbomax)

Unlike most horror stories, this one had a happy ending – sort of. The missing Pennywise turned up outside HBO’s offices just in time for Halloween (with an arm torn off, which is incredibly meta if you know the material). And while he was gone, we had fabricated a replacement – only this time outfitted with an electronic tracker and accompanied by a security guard – also just in time for Halloween, which in West Hollywood is a very big celebration.


Between the red balloons, the Pennywise spottings across the globe, and the transit shelter buildout, this was one of those ad campaigns that can happen only IRL. The campaign had a happy ending too – 5.7 million people watched IT: Welcome to Derry’s premiere episode, making it HBO’s third-biggest debut of all time (SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter).

When it’s time to stop clowning around and bring your customers brand experiences in real life, give us a shout (or a scream).

Author: Jay Fenster, Marketing Manager @ OUTFRONT

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