Peacock’s Bel-Air x Complex Networks
Client: Peacock (Bel-Air)
Agency: Complex Networks
Role: Creative Strategist
Deliverables: Promo campaign strategy, cultural positioning, editorial integration, panel events, content rollout
The Brief
Peacock was preparing to launch Bel-Air, a dramatic reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The challenge: how do you honor one of TV’s most beloved comedies while reintroducing it as a prestige drama for a new generation? At Complex Networks, our job was to craft the first promo campaign that bridged nostalgia with cultural depth — sparking conversation, contextualizing the story, and positioning Bel-Air as a must-watch event.
The Strategy
Reframe the Narrative 🎬 → Position Bel-Air as more than a reboot: a dramatic exploration of what Will’s story would truly look like in today’s world.
Parallel with Real Life 🌍 → Dive into the complexities of being a young Black man navigating a predominantly white neighborhood, and the cultural dissonance that comes with leaving home for a world you don’t fit into.
Expose Social Realities 🏙️ → Thread in themes of redlining, gentrification, and systemic inequities — showing how the Banks family’s move to Bel-Air symbolized both progress and tension.
Honor Nostalgia, Add Weight 👑 → Maintain the legacy of Fresh Prince while giving it gravity: a story rooted in joy and culture, but layered with identity, displacement, and resilience.
Speak to the Audience ✨ → Connect with Complex’s community by acknowledging that these themes mirror the realities of many fans today — making the show feel urgent, personal, and culturally necessary.
The Work
Hero Promo Tease
Launched the first social promo assets — cinematic teasers that juxtaposed nostalgia with darker, prestige drama visuals. This signaled a tonal shift: Bel-Air was not a sitcom revival, but a new cultural story.
Editorial Integration
Through Complex.com, we published content contextualizing Bel-Air as more than entertainment. Editorial pieces unpacked themes of identity, displacement, and cultural representation — grounding the campaign in real conversation.
Panel Discussions
We brought fans into the Banks mansion for the first time ever 🏠. Panel events explored themes like Black identity in predominantly white spaces, systemic inequities, and what life in Bel-Air would mean in the 21st century. This gave the campaign credibility and cultural depth.
Social Rollout
Promo assets and cultural clips rolled out across Complex’s platforms 📱. Short-form content paired nostalgia with critical commentary, driving anticipation and igniting conversation among fans.
Content Drop → Premiere
To build momentum leading into the premiere — airing directly after the Super Bowl 🏈 — we released an exclusive content drop. This moment extended hype from IRL activations into digital, ensuring Bel-Air launched with cultural weight and massive visibility.
Reflection
As Creative Strategist, I helped craft the rollout that reframed Bel-Air from “reboot risk” into a prestige cultural event. By weaving in editorial context, fan-centered panels, immersive experiences, and timed content drops, we positioned the show not just as a piece of IP nostalgia — but as a conversation about Black identity, systemic inequities, and generational resilience.