CGI marketing: the strange new world of viral surrealism
Brandon Baum, Founder/CEO of StudioB and viral content creator with 14M+ followers, reveals how brands are increasingly using surreal visual effects to connect with their social audiences. He shares five recent examples that have proved successful.
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Think CGI and your mind probably skips to Marvel blockbusters or Netflix’s House of the Dragon. But as the price of technology has come down and computing capabilities have improved, CGI has also become a powerful tool for digital-first viral marketers.
At StudioB, we have been creating CGI-powered social content for the last five years. But 2023 has definitely seen an upsurge in the number of marketers approaching us to discuss how they can harness these creative capabilities. And we’re not an isolated case. Browse platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts and you’ll see a growing number of blue-chip brands launching eye-catching campaigns based around short-form CGI-powered executions.
The combination of social media, CGI and razor-sharp comedy is perfectly suited to today’s hard-to-reach youth audience.
This utilisation of democratised CGI for brands has been given a new tagline – ‘surrealist marketing’. This tagline perfectly captures the tone of the work, but there is nothing surreal about the strategy behind it. The combination of social media, CGI and razor-sharp comedy is perfectly suited to today’s hard-to-reach youth audience. And assuming the creative package lands as intended, the payback for brands in terms of earned media can be immense.
To illustrate the kind of work I’m talking about, I’ve selected five recent CGI-based campaigns that demonstrate the impact of this fast-growing segment of the branded content business:
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Maybelline: In a beautifully simple execution, Maybelline gave London buses and tube trains eyelashes to die for – and then demonstrated how they might apply their mascara.
What really stands out with this kind of work is that it looks so authentic.
All of the necessary product information is right there, but it is wrapped up in a moment of comedy magic. What really stands out with this kind of work is that it looks so authentic – meaning that audiences spend an extra few seconds thinking ‘Did that really happen?’. When the penny finally drops that this is CGI marketing, it’s a no brainer to share it with friends via social media platform. The result so far is 70 million views and 2.8m likes.
Jacquemus: Fashion brand Jacquemus secured millions of likes when its luxury Bambino bags raced through the streets of Paris, past iconic architecture. As with Maybelline, it’s great shareable comedy (with a clever in-joke – because Jacquemus is known for making very small bags).
these social first campaigns can be put together quickly. This makes them perfect for tactical stunt-based marketing messages.
From a brand perspective, there’s also a subliminal message here about Jacquemus being an urban trendsetter – perfectly at home in the world’s most fashionable city. Worth noting is that the campaign could be easily re-versioned against other backdrops – without all the hassle and cost of expensive production design and licences for street closures.
Barbie Movie: Creating a giant VFX Barbie next to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is a win at so many levels. As with my other examples it is funny, colourful and eye-catching, which is why it had racked up 3.5 million views by the end of July. But there is also a bold on-brand statement about female empowerment implicit in the campaign – Barbie in a playsuit upstaging the ultimate totemic expression of Middle Eastern petrodollars. Another key point is that these social first campaigns can be put together quickly. This makes them perfect for tactical stunt-based marketing messages – such as blockbuster film releases.
Isabel Marant: French fashion brand Isabel Marant is active in social media – mainly with the kind of moody and stylish content you’d expect from this sector. That’s why I love this playful video of a giant toothpaste tube being squeezed right outside an Isabel Marant store front. The video is a very effective piece of product placement – but it also performed some other important jobs for the client. Firstly, it was used to promote the launch of the brand’s new men’s collection.
Surreal marketing has something to offer brands across a range of verticals
Secondly, it triggered retail visits – by inviting audiences to come to one of the brand’s stores to get a free gift. Stylistically, the video works well because of the seamless juxtaposition of the surreal and the mundane. The characters in the film look exactly like high-street shoppers. The camera shake gives the production a natural and organic feel.
Bolt: This is a campaign StudioB created for mobility app Bolt. Bolt asked us to design a CGI campaign for them to ‘help bring the comfort of the living room outside’, so we built them a CGI roundabout and replaced the cars with popular domestic objects.
The goal is to disrupt and deceive audiences – in order to achieve a rush of positive emotion at the punchline.
It’s early days for this campaign, so there are no results regarding its effectiveness. But it’s a good example of how surreal marketing has something to offer brands across a range of verticals – not just the early adopters like fashion, cosmetics and media.
CGI is within reach of any brand that wants to make its mark in social media. But what is the magic formula that gives such campaigns a chance of going viral? In my view, it comes down to humour, authenticity, good timing and the element of surprise. The goal is to disrupt and deceive audiences – in order to achieve a rush of positive emotion at the punchline. Get the right tone and you may be looking at your most cost-effective and impactful campaign ever.
