What with all the silly social media campaigns and stunts that fill our inbox every day, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a project that demonstrates how to “hack” a well known platform in a smart, strategic way. And no, I don’t mean create a top-heavy Facebook app that crashes when you try to vote for some stupid brand idea.
From Toronto-based Cossette comes the “Instagram Time Machine,” part of a campaign for the Toronto Silent Film Festival. Now, if looking at Instagram your mobile phone vertically (or via desktop view), this makes no sense. “Why are there photos of just white spaces?” you may ask. But, if you turn your phone horizontally, voila! A virtual tour celebrating a century of silent film’s greatest star, Charlie Chaplin featuring videos, old movie posters, etc. Now THIS is a smart, innovative new way to use Instagram.
Now, as with any social “hack,” this has its limitations. There’s the aforementioned inability to make this work on a desktop (unless, i guess, you turn your monitor sideways). There’s also the issue of following this account, as it’s not going to be sending any new photos anytime soon due to its already completed structure. But, for five minutes, it’s a really ingenious thing to play with, even if you couldn’t care less about silent film. Good on Cossette, and if this thing gets more eyeballs, expect to see copycats creeping up next week. Search for “TSFF2014” on Instagram to find the account, and view credits after the jump.
Agency: Cossette
Co-Chief Creative Officers: Matthew Litzinger, David Daga
Creative Directors: Matthew Litzinger, David Daga
Copywriter: Sebastian Lyman
Art Director: Pepe Bratanov
Account Team: Jason Melhuish
