Given that there are apparently only seven narrative plots that exist in our universe, is it that surprising that we’re hard pressed to be … surprised. Overcoming the monster, voyage and return, the quest, rags to riches – we’ve seen these narratives executed multiple times, all following the same base architecture.
As humans we look for patterns and can’t help but fill in the gaps. Humans are characterised by their apophenia – a tendency to perceive patterns within random data. This overwhelming need to finish the story means that even before it’s over, we’ve already anticipated its end. Thus the element of surprise remains elusive in our culture and in the world of content.
So who has been surprising us of late? Beyoncé, for one. Her beautifully shot video Formation coupled with her politically charged Super Bowl appearance, which drew attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, used mainstream formats to highlight social issues. Equally impressive, though, was her ability to condense so many different narratives into four minutes – from Mardis Gras and voodoo, to hot sauce in handbags. Elsewhere in the music industry Rihanna and Drake surprised us by releasing two music videos for the same song, Work, a pleasantly refreshing take on the usual format.
Finally, Santigold has taken the Coke/Nike model of personalisation and created an innovative music video that makes you the star using an app that places your face in the video. This perfectly embodies Santigold’s preoccupation with our selfie-obsessed culture, while creating an incredibly fun, novel experience.
Within the world of content, brands have been looking to alternative platforms when trying to disrupt. Last year, Burberry launched a 24-hour campaign on Snapchat, shot by Mario Testino. After a day the beautiful images disappeared into the ether, but the coupling of the industries was ingenious.
As James Kirkham wrote: “How much do I love that reversed-out Snapchat ghost against the black and white of Testino’s classic photography used as part of the campaign promotion? It is mixing up the visual grammar and vernacular of two different mediums, in a way that you know is now going to influence a million new pieces of communication.”
Following on from this, J W Anderson has announced that his 2016 menswear show will be streamed exclusively on Grindr, the social networking app for gay men. This surprising shift in the way brands reach consumers will surely be seen more and more. Indeed Geico, winner of a Cannes Lion, played with the notion that 95% of consumers skip YouTube pre-roll ads within the first five seconds by making an “unskippable ad”. It emphatically states: “You can’t skip this Geico ad because it’s already over.” As the family in the ad freezes, their adorable St Bernard dog leaps on the table devouring the food for the remaining 45 seconds. The huge success (725,000 unaided YouTube views in a day) was down to Geico’s clever reimagining of the tricky pre-roll format.
Another tricky format that is gaining interest in the world of marketing is virtual reality (VR), which potentially has the ability to both surprise and delight if used in the right way. VR is the perfect tool by which to transport people into immersive, dangerous and thrilling situations, all from the safety of their living rooms. Many brands have been experimenting with it, including Topshop, Boursin Cheese and Marriott hotels.
From a pure entertainment point of view, Google Cardboard has been spearheading the rollout VR way. Jaunt and North Face recently put consumers at the heart of Yosemite by following two climbers as they climb/base jump their way through spots in Utah and Yosemite, California. Sisters, created by Otherworld, is a creepy and strangely terrifying experience with a novel surprise at the end. This rush of adrenalin is a great alternative to the homogenised bulk of scary films, which all seem to follow the same possessed-child-demon shtick.
It would appear the way to surprise isn’t always through the story itself, but rather when mediums and platforms are turned on their heads and reimagined.
