F*ck Cutdowns: Destigmatising Social and Embracing Multi Platform Production

Like it or not, social media advertising looks set to continue growing and it's time we started paying it the attention it deserves. Craft-centric friends, hear me out... 

With AI taking centre stage in the zeitgeist, advertising’s ‘less cool’ cousin continues to be undermined. The word ‘social’ has been a longstanding outcast in the commercial production industry, cast aside as the problem child offering little creative or financial value to the titans chasing acclaim within broadcast campaigns.  

We all know that incorporating video ads as part of your social media strategy is a surefire way to guarantee interactions: according to research, consumers are 10x more likely to interact with a video than with text. 

Despite this, for years now, the production world has been shading within the lines, resisting new platforms and relying heavily on the word ‘cutdown’ to persuade directors there will be no impact on their long form edits.

All too often, social films are direct lifts, frequently unboarded and given a fraction of the attention that the :60 or :30 get in the pre-production process. The final product tends to be a rushed version of the traditional broadcast spot. What are we so afraid of? 

Scan the many hundreds of established commercial production company websites and the pattern becomes clear: director rosters predominantly showcase work crafted for traditional 16x9 platforms, with little to no attention given to alternative media or shorter form storytelling.

Assessing the Playing Field

In the second quarter of 2023, cable giants dropped 1.7m subscribers as they continue to lose ground to streamers. It’s now estimated that almost 5 billion people use social media and it’s projected that in 2023 ad spending will have hit $268bn, with almost $80bn in video ad spending alone, up from $22bn in 2022. 

The trend is clear and it’s no surprise to see a number of agencies recently named Social AOR for major brands. The tides have been slowly turning, perhaps overlooked during the free money cycle of the past decade.

To be clear, I am not saying ‘commercials are dead’. The demise of traditional media only increases streamers’ ability to continually upcharge for ‘ad free’ subscriptions, bringing the basic plans in line with the once ‘ad free’ pricing structure. Our streaming experiences are looking suspiciously similar to the old cable model already, so I don’t expect traditional commercials to go anywhere. But why limit premium filmmaking to just one platform?

As we navigate these inflationary, post COVID waters where consumer spending is tightening and the cost of living increases, brands need to find economically viable solutions to reach a wider, more focused audience in order to generate measurable ROI. In this value-led economy, clients are being held accountable for profitability. This is not particularly great news for those chasing the glamour of inward-facing award ceremonies, where winning projects are seldom seen outside of the industry.

Cinematic Social 

The biggest opportunity I see for commercial filmmakers is to embrace campaign content that drives real engagement and audience growth, and pairing it with impeccably crafted commercial filmmaking. As an industry we must collectively shift our view of social media ads. Creative integrity is not sacrificed by helping brands become more successful across platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram via native and cinematic social content. 

For these reasons, we have settled on the mantra ‘f*ck cutdowns’. Instead, we tell stories and develop creative that feels native to the platform and media plan they’re designed for. We are cinematic storytellers that understand the craft of commercials, with an appreciation for social trends and engagement. There’s craftsmanship in developing cohesive global campaigns in a multi platform world, and agencies and brands alike need storytellers that ‘get it’. The overall quality of user and brand generated content has increased so dramatically in the last few years that there’s never been a better time to create ‘cinematic social.’

If anything has changed, it’s the need to find value in cross-platform projects at a time where more is required of every budget. Embracing this isn’t diminishing the creative output - it’s increasing and, as production partners, it’s our responsibility to stay relevant to the needs of those who support us. 

From the moment I arrived in commercial filmmaking, I’ve been told “it’s not like it used to be”, budgets are shrinking and the glory days are over. If that’s the case, why are we stubbornly holding onto the same old outputs? 

The first TV ad aired in 1941 during a baseball game between The Dodgers and The Phillies. The first social media advertisement appeared on Facebook in 2005. Our industry isn’t changing, it’s evolving. As we soar through the most rapid technological evolution in human history, will we continue to yearn for the glory days of older, outdated technology or should production and storytelling evolve in tandem with this brave new world?