Miami nightclub E11EVEN took to the skies over South Beach, a coastal area of Miami Beach, with a response to NINE1NINE, a fictional nightclub brand advertised on an airplane-towed banner in the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI), Rockstar Games’ upcoming game and the next installment in the series. The stunt used the message “When Nine 1 Nine = E11even.”

Eddie Franco, E11EVEN’s marketing director, explained in an interview about the initiative that he was notified when the trailer premiered and contacted an aerial banner company. The nightclub’s message flew the day after the video’s release, in December 2023.

In GTA VI’s first trailer, released by Rockstar on December 4, 2023, an airplane flies over the beach in Vice City, the game’s fictional city inspired by Miami, towing the message “Why Sixty Nine When You Can Nine 1 Nine.”

The sequence created an unusual exchange between real-world Miami and its satirical version in GTA VI. E11EVEN was already using airplane-towed banners to promote its South Beach nightclub and took advantage of that exact format to respond to the game’s reference.

The connection between NINE1NINE and E11EVEN quickly emerged among Miami residents and fan communities, who compared the name, the nightlife context, and the aerial advertising. It is an interpretation based on the visual similarity: Rockstar has not confirmed that the fictional Vice City brand was directly based on the real nightclub, and Franco also said he did not know whether the reference was intentional.

The episode helps show how the first trailer built Leonida, the fictional state where GTA VI takes place, from recognizable elements of South Florida. Rockstar presents Vice City, Leonida Keys, Grassrivers, Port Gellhorn, Ambrosia, and Mount Kalaga as destinations in the game.

Grand Theft Auto VI is Rockstar Games’ next game, set in the fictional state of Leonida. It is scheduled to launch on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S.