The facade of the ELJ building inside the ABS-CBN compound is illuminated in red and flashed with the word Trese as part of the Netflix show's marketing on June 11, 2021. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
(UPDATED) Is ABS-CBN no more? No, that’s just fiction.
The network's metallic logo atop its Eugenio Lopez Jr. (ELJ) Communications Center building in Quezon City was gradually replaced Friday afternoon by black signage with the letters “ABC-ZNN” in white.
But instead of the station seemingly being taken over, it’s all just marketing for the new Netflix anime series “Trese.”
“ABC-ZNN,” a play on the media company’s name, is a TV station in the Filipino graphic novel adaptation which premiered Friday.
By 6 p.m. on Friday, the façade of ELJ glowed red, with interior lights seen through windows, spanning several stories and the entire width of the building, forming the word “TRESE.”
A day prior on Thursday, billboards promoting the series were placed outside the station’s walls in Sgt. Esguerra Avenue, along with the “ABC-ZNN” logo.
Billboards with “ANC-ZNN” make an appearance near ABS-CBN’s gate
That night, ABS-CBN’s broadcast center -- normally lit in the network’s red-green-blue colors -- was illuminated in red, the color of the streaming platform.
ABS-CBN was not involved in the making of the series produced by BASE Entertainment and released with dubs in English, Tagalog, Japanese, and Spanish.
Actress Liza Soberano, who voices lead character Alexandra Trese for the Filipino language dub, is a contract artist of the network.
On Twitter, users were taken by surprise at the physical transformation of ABS-CBN’s signage and marveled at the length of the marketing done for “Trese”.
ABS-CBN was not the only media outlet that physically advertised “Trese.”
Local broadsheets such as the Philippine Star and BusinessWorld printed faux front pages featuring an advertorial “reporting" a scene from the series.
In the run-up to the premiere, on-ground and digital promos such as “vandalized” billboards and “leaked” security footage of mythological monsters purportedly roaming Metro Manila drew attention to the series.