Ilomilo Theory: A Billie Eilish lesson in how brands can engage fans
Trying to inspire your fans to talk about your brand? Come up with a fan theory.
In the world of Billie Eilish fandom, it is a golden time for fun theories. The Eyelashes, the unofficial name of Billy’s fandom, are currently exploring (and creating) a tangled web of riddles and clues allegedly woven into Eilish’s latest album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.
So how did Eilish inspire her fans to create so much content for her and to promote HMHAS on her behalf? Ilomilo Theory.
What is Ilomilo?
lomilo is a puzzle game where players control two characters, Ilo and Milo: a red one and a blue one. Players can control both characters cooperatively or play with a friend.
“It’s this sort of anti-gravity world where there are all these little blocks, and they start apart from each other,” Eilish explained during her appearance on the Youtube show Hot Ones. “The idea is you just get to each other, and when they do, they simply hug—no prize involved. So the whole concept of the game is losing the person you love and then finding them again.”
Eilish has a song called Ilomilo on her debut album. After the Hot Ones interview, her fans embraced the game as their own. On seeing the blue motif of the new album and Instagram highlights, they immediately began speculating whether the (still imaginary) counterpart would be red?
Uncovering the evidence - and posting about it
Three years for just ten tracks? HMHAS fans believe this is just the first half of a larger work, the purported and already legendary “Ilomilo album.”
As anticipation mounts for a second installment, expected to be red, the Eyelashes are dissecting every lyric, decoding every image, and nurturing their own theories.
Eilish, the supposed mastermind behind the intrigue, is keeping her cards close to her chest, but fans have uncovered (or imagined) countless clues, including:
The title of the track Blue and merchandise subtly blending crimson into the dominant watery theme.
TikTok brims with fan-generated videos dissecting every nuance of the album, while Instagram reveals some “handwritten” musings, scrawled in slightly different scripts.
The final song, Blue, leaves us hanging: “But when can I hear the next one?”
There are visual cues across her social media, including Eilish’s new hair color (red) and profile picture (blue).
Unlocking the engagment value of fan theories
Eilish is not the first to create a fan theory. There is also a whole social network on fan theory. More than half of Redditors engage with fan theories. Eilish is one of the few to design these theories intentionally. The result? Her fans create TikToks, posts and spread her word for her.
In 1967, rumors emerged that Paul McCartney had died and been replaced by a lookalike. Clues were allegedly hidden within the album’s lyrics and cover art, including a license plate on the Abbey Road cover. Despite McCartney’s persistent debunking of the theory (and being alive), the myth endures.
The cryptic symbols on the cover of Radiohead’s OK Computer set the band's fandom alight. Was it a code? A message from another dimension? Fans debated the significance of every pixel until the band released Kid A alongside an ARG which did not disappoint.
Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails Year Zero also spawned an immersive ARG with clues hidden in websites, concert merchandise and cryptic videos. Tool’s 10,000 Days followed suit, with stereoscopic viewers revealing hidden images.
New job on the market? Fan theory designer.
Is Ilomilo Theory genuinely a part of a launch strategy of a second part of the HMHAS? If it is not, it should be. And if she doesn’t have the second drop planned, with all the user generated media coverage, she should.
If it wasn’t planned, it seems like a massively wasted opportunity. But regardless of all other considerations, the Eyelashes are having fun. Fandom’s fun is a non-negotiable.
The hardcore fans are engaged and casual fans are curious and go through the links to check for themselves. It’s great engagement, and a great conversation, and will surely lead to more user-created content.
Brands that create their own fan theories will energize their fan base. Fan theory works, and it will work just as well with a fragrance, sneakers or even snacks.
It’s easy to imagine a job posting by Converse or Lippy Taylor looking for a "Theory Designer” to lead storytellers.