With its fun filters and ability to make life look photogenic and wonderful, Instagram has grown from a simple photo-sharing app into a powerful media platform. Entire careers have been built around it, with “influencers” becoming a new breed of celebrity.
But the idea of hosing influencers with cash and free products to turn them into brand ambassadors is already beginning to feel old. In fact, German bank Sparkasse and its agency Jung Von Matt last year satirized the influencer boom in a campaign for its Kwitt app. Its own influencer was highly unorthodox and, of course, 100% “authentic”.
Title | Kwittfluencer |
Brief | Influencers on Instagram. Celebrities? Narcissists? Sales people? To promote the new peer-to-peer mobile payment feature, Kwitt, this campaign for German bank Sparkasse satirised influencer culture by creating an extremely unlikely "public figure" and getting him to strike familiar poses. The campaign mercilessly ridiculed everything and everyone that treads the thin line between advertising and self-promotion on Instagram. As he says: "Totally authentic." |
Agency | Jung von Matt AG |
Campaign | Kwittfluencer |
Advertiser | Sparkasse – public Bank of Germany |
Brand | kwitt |
Posted | November 2018 |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Story | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Digital |
Creative Director | Jo....es H...s Subscribers Only |
Creative Director | F....es R...e Subscribers Only |
Creative Director | E...da Ni....er Subscribers Only |
Copywriter | An.....rie Br....er Subscribers Only |
Copywriter | Be....in B..m Subscribers Only |
Art Director | Fr.....ka K...ger Subscribers Only |
Art Director | S...h Do.....en Subscribers Only |
Art Director | A...la J....ann Subscribers Only |
Photographer | H..s S...ck Subscribers Only |
Executive Creative Director | T..l E...l Subscribers Only |
Managing Director | S..n R....lz Subscribers Only |
Director of Photography (DOP) | T...as K...e Subscribers Only |
Client Services Director | Al.....ra Ba....us Subscribers Only |
Project Manager | C....in S...n Subscribers Only |
Concept Creative | ..e N....is Subscribers Only |
Social media consultant | P..l Sa....nn Subscribers Only |
Social Media Manager | B...rn Tr.....ky Subscribers Only |
Influencers themselves were the unwitting targets of “The Black Future Social Club”, a campaign from Italian agency Dude promoting the dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror. The pop-up club was open only to people who had more than a thousand followers on Instagram. Not only that, but once they were inside they had to collect a maximum number of “likes” for their photos of the night, or risk being kicked out.
Title | Black Future Social Club |
Agency | Dude |
Campaign | Black Future Social Club |
Advertiser | Netflix, Inc. |
Brand | Black Mirror Season 3 |
Posted | June 2018 |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Story | Subscribers Only |
Story (original language) | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Events |
Length | |
Creative Director | L...o B...li Subscribers Only |
Creative Director | L....zo Pi.....tti Subscribers Only |
Copywriter | N...lò Ca....si Subscribers Only |
Art Director | L..a R..a Subscribers Only |
Account Director | E...a P...a Subscribers Only |
Account Manager | A..a N....li Subscribers Only |
Integrated Production Director | M...eo Pe....ri Subscribers Only |
Event | L...a ..y Subscribers Only |
Executive Producer | I..n M...o Subscribers Only |
Production Company Producer | S...ne R...i Subscribers Only |
Post Production Supervisor | S..a M....do Subscribers Only |
Editor | D....le D...e P...e Subscribers Only |
M...o .e Be.....tis Subscribers Only |
The most notorious aspect of Instagram culture is the selfie, the 21st-century version of the good old self-portrait. Whether you find it endearing or annoying, the phenomenon is hard to escape. Here’s what happened when US agency CP-B and t-shirt maker Fruit of the Loom noticed that thousands of men were taking pictures of themselves with their torsos bared.
Title | #Putashirton |
Agency | CP+B |
Campaign | #Putashirton |
Advertiser | Fruit of the Loom Inc. |
Brand | Fruit of the Loom |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | Subscribers Only |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Philosophy | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Social Media |
Length | |
Account Supervisor | M..k H...ey Subscribers Only |
Account Supervisor | L...en S....ik Subscribers Only |
Account Director | K...ti Ki....de Bo.....te Subscribers Only |
Planning Director | C...g Mc....ll Subscribers Only |
Planning Team | W....ey At....on Subscribers Only |
Business Director | P...a W..b Subscribers Only |
Creative Director | .T T...er Subscribers Only |
Associate Creative Director | S....on G...ey Subscribers Only |
Associate Creative Director | J..h S....on Subscribers Only |
Agency Producer | A...r P..a Subscribers Only |
Social Media Strategist | N...i Z...k Subscribers Only |
Photographer | M..e Ol....ad Subscribers Only |
Perhaps not surprisingly, the platform’s Stories video sharing feature – an idea famously pinched from rival network Snapchat – is proving attractive to brands. A typical feature of Stories is the ability to vote on images and content. This enabled Burger King and LOLA Mullen Lowe in Spain to give users the opportunity to order customized burgers by voting on their favorite ingredients.
Title | Burger King Stories Ordering |
Agency | LOLA MullenLowe |
Campaign | Burger King Stories Ordering |
Advertiser | Burger King |
Brand | Burger King |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | Subscribers Only |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Tagline | Subscribers Only |
Story | Subscribers Only |
Result | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Social Media |
Length |
Talking of Stories, The New York Public Library and Mother quite rightly asked themselves why there weren’t any actual stories on the platform. To put matters right, they created InstaNovels – classic stories in Instagram form, with beautiful animated introductions.
Title | InstaNovels |
Agency | Mother |
Campaign | InstaNovels |
Advertiser | The New York Public Library |
Brand | The New York Public Library |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | Subscribers Only |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Social Media |
Length |
Agencies are also starting to make creative use of some of the platform’s quirkier tools. For example, animal rights group Bite Back and the agency FamousGrey in Belgium took advantage of Boomerang, which lets users turn short films into endlessly repeating clips. This was used to demonstrate “zoochosis”, which can provoke obsessive-compulsive disorder among zoo animals, such as performing repetitive actions.
Title | Not a Boomerang |
Agency | FamousGrey |
Campaign | Not a Boomerang |
Advertiser | Bite Back |
Brand | Bite Back |
Date of First Broadcast/Publication | Subscribers Only |
Business Sector | Subscribers Only |
Media Type | Social Media |
Length |
Finally, true Instagram addicts sometimes want to take a break from the platform altogether. That’s why Jung Vom Matt/Limmat came up with the “Relax we post” service for Ibis hotels in Switzerland. Hotel guests in Zurich and Geneva could put their Instagram accounts in the hands of experienced influencers, leaving them completely free to enjoy their vacations.