Lowe’s Hacked Instagram Stories With Fun Microvideos of DIY Jobs in Tiny Vertical Rooms

Lowe’s and BBDO have long teamed up for some of the most enjoyable and innovative social video content, most famously the brilliant “Fix in Six” Vine videos.

Now, they’ve hacked Instagram Stories in a fun way.

The first story of a new Instagram campaign launched this morning. It crams, by our count, 64 little microvideos, each less than a second long, into about 35 seconds total. Together, they show the transformation of a little vertical room, whose dimensions match the Instagram window, from wasted space with a sad potted plant and a stool into a charming little playspace nook for kids.

Here’s how the story looks to Instagram users:

The approach is useful in a few ways. First, the clips go by so quickly that there’s little time to tap past them. Second, breaking up the DIY project into 64 bits makes it easy for users, in theory, to tap back screen by screen to inspect each stage a little more closely.

The campaign, created by BBDO New York, was born from a creative hackathon hosted by Facebook Creative Shop. Facebook, of course, owns Instagram.

“We are always looking for new ways to create unique user experiences, and by discovering this never-before-seen hack of the Instagram Story platform, we were able to achieve an innovation parallel to the DIY ‘hacks’ Lowe’s provides for its customers every day,” says Mike Sweeney, senior creative director at BBDO New York.

“This campaign highlights the creative potential that Instagram Stories can hold for brands,” adds Quote from Kay Hsu, global Instagram lead at Facebook Creative Shop. “Lowe’s cleverly leverages the full-screen vertical format to demonstrate how narrow spaces can be easily transformed with a smart hack. The brand shows a deep understanding of Instagram Stories and how audiences interact with the format—automatically skipping ahead before the viewer even had a chance to do it themselves. The result? Lowe’s transforms boring, tight spaces into beautiful rooms that are Instagram-worthy.”

Expect more stories on the channel soon.

“Lowe’s is always exploring innovative and creative ways to engage with customers that are authentic to the social platform,” says Derrick Wood, vp of brand, content and advertising at Lowe’s. “With our new campaign on Instagram Stories, Lowe’s has developed an engaging, light-hearted approach to project videos, while showing how simple it can be to quickly change a small space into a more functional area. The simplicity of each project is matched by a quick swipe to more detailed instructions and to easily purchase the supplies needed to complete it.”

CREDITS
Client: Lowe’s

Agency: BBDO New York
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Director: Tim Bayne
Senior Creative Director: Mike Sweeney
Senior Creative Director: Molly Adler
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Marcus Johnston
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Jim Connolly

Senior Director: Bob Estrada
Account Director: Tyler Harris
Account Manager: Marlee Caine

Director of Integrated Production: Dave Rolfe
Executive Producer: Kristin Tomborello
Producer: Ali Gladstone

Director of Platform Innovation: Alex Marsh
Communications Planning Director: Nicole Landesman
Junior Communications Planner: Brenna Tharnstrom

Production Company: BBDO Studios + Visual Country
BBDO Studios Lead: Michael Gentile
Studio Manager: AJ Rowe
Editor: Alex Lubars
Editor: Jeff Reagan
Casting Director: Tom Saporito
Production Assistant: Grace Brown
Production Assistant: Vanda Saggese

Visual Country
Director: Michael Popp
Production Designer: Giancarlo Colaianni
Creative Director: Meagan Cignoli
Producer: Amber Lee
DP/Editor: Chelsea Lee
Art Director/Prop Stylist: Erin O’Keefe
Production Assistant: Anna Gelman

Tim Nudd

@nudd

Tim Nudd is a former creative editor of Adweek.