Vine is still a relatively new medium, but Twitter’s six-second mobile-social video platform has become increasingly popular amongst not just users, but brands as well. Ever since Vine launched last January, more and more brands are jumping on the Vine bandwagon. On top of having over 40 million users, Vine clips are short, unique and fun. And you can easily get lost on the site because the videos can be hypnotic.
Is there another medium that thrives on rapid, short-lived moments? We’ll give you a hint. It has something to do with Halloween.
Horror movies have become so popular because of the sudden and memorable jump-out-of-your-seat-moments. These are the scenes that make viewers spread the word and keep studios producing them. And, Vine is kinda in the same situation. Which makes Vine and Halloween a perfect pairing. Unfortunately, brands haven’t fully taken advantage of “horror marketing”.
Except for Tide, who have released 7 horrifying Vines for Halloween.
Boston-based ad agency Digitas led the campaign for the Procter & Gamble brand, which first debuted on October 18. The seven Vines recreate some of the most unforgettable moments form classic horror films like Paranormal Activity, Carrie, Poltergeist, and Psycho. Of course, each clip stars a bottle of Tide and threatening message to these terrifying stains.
https://vine.co/v/hwVzqF3nUHD
https://vine.co/v/hpgz15pLeeL
https://vine.co/v/hpbDqXZFjJu
https://vine.co/v/hdppAEtVInX
Tide isn’t just limiting the campaign to social media sites like Facebook. Tide has been using stills from the Vine campaign on digital billboards. This is one of the first instances of taking the six-second clips and placing them on the outside world. A clever move considering that the videos aren’t really being watched by consumers. Barry Cunningham has pointed out that despite having some 3.9 million fans, only 2,000 to 7,000 have liked the various videos. As far as Twitter, the clips aren’t getting many retweets either. Featuring stills from the campaign on billboards could reach people who aren’t up to speed with all the campaigns going on with social media sites.
Still, Tide’s Vine Halloween-themed campaign has plenty of people talking. It’s clever, creative and fun. Vine is still a new platform for brands to experiment with, so we wouldn’t rule this out as a failure. It’s generating a fair amount of buzz online, and with some additional tinkering, future themed campaigns could connect even more with consumers.
What do you think of the Tide Halloween Vines? Are they effective? If so, why aren’t more consumers watching them?
Featured image via AdWeek and Vine.
