Trendspotting: Better, Faster, Longer

By Angie Argabrite, Thursday, April 19, 2012, at 9:01 am.

Just when we think our criminally short attention spans have altered the advertising ecosystem forever, this happens: During the Super Bowl, Chrysler screened a much-buzzed-about two-minute ad starring Clint Eastwood; during the Grammys, Chipotle aired a two-minute-and-20-second animated commercial. Then, on one ordinary Sunday night, Cartier takes to three networks to unleash a three-and-a-half-minute ad featuring a panther and Shalom Harlow in a backless red ball gown (does that fit the criteria set down by a new marketing study that finds that for maximum viewer engagement, video ads must surprise and then elicit joy?). Not only is the Cartier ad perhaps the most impressive example of these “short films” thus far, but it’s also falling into step with another trend: the rise of the fashion video. Ranging from high fashion to street fashion, recent videos for Chanel, Miu Miu, Topshop and H&M are building buzz and going viral in an industry that once leaned almost entirely on glossy print advertising. For politicians, too, 2012 is the year of the viral video. Because 71 percent of online adults use video sites like YouTube or Vimeo, 10 percent of politicians’ ad campaign budgets are now allotted to the Web. Before trying his hand at a 30-second ad, President Obama is embracing a lengthier message—17 minutes—to make his case for another term. It won’t be hitting prime time, but the ad is on Obama’s website, YouTube and social media sites. In spite of conventional wisdom about short, snappy ads, these “mini-documentaries” have consumers, and many ad execs, mesmerized—or at least scratching their heads over the audacity and novelty of a long-form ad. You decide.

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