#Cannes2016 Are Short Films the Future of Advertising?

Or is it the future of Branded Entertainment?  I am not quite able to tell.  

But as the advertising and marketing fraternity meets on the  French Riviera for the Cannes Advertising Festival this week, it may be a question that comes to their minds.  And if it does, either there is a reluctant acceptance that it might be so, that is  if they don't manage to nudge the nagging question out of their minds.

But increasingly it is the short film or would you like to call it the advertising long film that is being seen by most audiences. One thing is in little doubt. The creative agency that has been accused of not being able to think beyond the 30 second spot, has suddenly broken the barrier and started making  4 minute films.  Maybe we can't even call it a spot anymore.  This is true both in the Western world and in countries like India who are actually relatively behind the curve when it comes to consumers skipping  past the print ad, fast forwarding the TV ad, and cutting cable subscriptions.  But one thing is for sure : grabbing the consumer's attention is becoming an increasingly difficult task irrespective of the geography of the market.

Take the example of what won the Grand Prix last year at the Cannes festival.

• Client: Leica Gallery São Paulo
"100"
Entrant: F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi São Paulo
Production Company: Stink Sao Paulo
Grand Prix in Film, two gold Lions in Film Craft

Or take this film for Procter Gamble notoriously known for not being imaginative and courageous enough in the days of yore and turning the advertising film into something of a formula.

 • Client: Procter & Gamble/Always
"#LikeAGirl"
Entrant: Leo Burnett Toronto, Chicago and London/Holler London
Production Company: Chelsea Pictures Los Angeles
Gold Lion in Film

Advertising and Branded Entertainment

When one looks at these films one can't help but think that these are not the advertising commercials of yore. They are not 30 seconds.  They don't have a brand window that shows boring graphics of cameras and their complicated functions, or how sanitary napkins absorb a blue liquid which you are supposed to interpret as blood.

But again on the other hand, these seem to be films that have been made to entertain people and only sign off with the brand.  Or it it really advertising?  Or are we just seeing shorter versions of films like Castaway that we originally classified into Branded Entertainment? You knew Castaway was a  full length feature.  You might  have even wondered what Fedex may have paid Tom Hanks or the producer of the film for making it.  (although Fedex in fact didn't!). So in many ways, these films seems like 2 minute or 4 minute shots of branded entertainment.  

 Almost half the 24,000 U.S. consumers surveyed last year by market research firm GfK MRI agreed that “much of advertising is way too annoying.” In the online medium, digital-ad interruptions are too frequent, according to 84% of people Accenture surveyed this year in 28 countries. Some 10% of desktop web users in the U.S. have ad blockers installed, and the practice is now ramping up on mobile. 

Other markets like India have been quick to follow suit even without encountering the hurdles of more developed markets where consumer attention is fragmenting rapidly.The last year saw a slew of films that were a few minutes long.

Blurring of Boundaries

In many ways therefore the lines between branded entertainment and advertising are blurring.  The short film certainly does not feel like it evolved from the notorious 30 second spot.  It doesn't sell. It entertains and almost reluctantly and apologetically reveals its author at the end of the film.  And will the Cannes 2016 festival re-iterate this lurking suspicion by awarding a short film the Grand Prix once again?  And were the doomsayers who were predicting the death of advertising, really talking about the death of the 30 sec spot to be replaced by a short film?

When you see these short films that are invading us, you could have a huge debate if it is advertising or branded entertainment.  If it is advertising, it is time to pose the question  if short films are the future of advertising and if it is what keeps the advertising man of today, awake at night!

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