There’s always a chance that Frank Underwood — Kevin Spacey’s devious fictional character from House of Cards — could be coming to a debate near you.
When many eyes were fixed on the news during the announcement of the Australian budget Tuesday night, the Netflix political drama ran a 30-second video created to look like a political ad titled “Australians for Underwood,” urging viewers to support a new leader.
As the farmer in the commercial puts it, “Frankly, it’s time we had some real leadership. Like they do in the U.S.” The spot waits until the end to reveal that the leader “who will not yield” is in fact Spacey’s scheming POTUS character.
The move was not without precedent. The show also ran ads that tacked onto news-driving political events during 2015’s Republican Debate and Brexit in 2016. Watch below.
The House of Cards video had garnered 342,001 views as of Wednesday morning, and the ad campaign included a print ad and a Facebook page. The show drops on Netflix on May 30.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0
- How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker
- The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com