First Kiss by Wren
By Ellyse O'Halloran
‘FIRST KISS’, a video by amateur filmmaker Tatia Pllieva, was uploaded to YouTube on March 10, 2014 and has over 82 million views to date. It’s a 3 and a half-minute piece shot in black and white that shows 20 strangers meet for the first time and kiss. The film is presented by fashion label, WREN studios. All subjects in the film are wearing items of clothing from WREN’s fall 2014 collection. The video sparked discussion and spread across the web very quickly due to the large volume of people who shared it through their social media sites. It also spawned re-imaginings, parodies and alternate versions within weeks of upload. At first viewing, it’s difficult to tell that it is in fact an advertisement. Despite the fact that the clothing brand is referenced in the opening sequence and the end credits, it took some time for consumers to recognise that they had viewed and shared a promotional video for a line of clothing. Upon realisation, the viewer is now aware of a brand they might not have known before. For this reason, ‘FIRST KISS’ is an excellent example of a viral marketing campaign.
Strengths
In planning a viral campaign, a company should analyse internal factors (finance), external factors (business context analysis) and consider whether they aim to target a niche or mass market (Grifoni, P, D’andrea, A & Ferri, F 2012). It is clear that the creator of ‘FIRST KISS’ has done this. A mass market has been reached on account of the success of the video. The quirky nature of the video draws viewers in. The title itself is enough to encourage the viewer to find out more. WREN’s founder and creative director, Melissa Coker, commissioned the video. It’s has a low budget, rustic feel which is a style that is often seen on YouTube and thus communicates with this digital native audience. Furthermore, the short length of the video allows for the viewers attention to be arrested for the entirety of the clip.
Another strength of the video is that it appeals to the viewers’ emotions. ‘FIRST KISS’ has been described as ‘a little funny, awkward and touching’ (Nicholson, E 2014). The use of music also supports this, amping up an emotive response. It’s quirky, raw and creates art out of an experience that so many people can relate to. This gives the viewer a reason to talk about the product/company and thus encourages online and peer-to-peer sharing.
A factor that contributed to the virality of ‘FIRST KISS’ is that since its release, other YouTube users remixed the concept of the video or created their own version. It was also spoken about on the Ellen Show. In the era of Web 2.0 there exists an increased participation from users, blurring the lines between consumer and producer (Gurney, D 2011). The popularity of the ‘FIRST KISS’ video, sparked viewers to recreate, parody and remix the content. Participatory behaviour is valuable because it encourages eWOM and means that more people engage with the content. Consider TheFineBros reincarnation through their popular ‘react’ series. Not only do they make their audience-base aware of the video, but they also explicitly discuss the fact that the original video was an advertisement for a clothing company. This sparks a certain curiosity in the viewer, encouraging them to look into the brand. Because ‘FIRST KISS’ contains elements of the unexpected and allows for user participation, it was able to reach a wide audience and therefore gain success.
The advertisements subtlety is another factor that contributed to its success. The ad doesn’t aim to persuade the viewer, only to showcase the clothing line. ‘FIRST KISS’ isn’t clouded with information but rather, focuses on entertaining the viewer. It is vital to integrate entertainment in content because millions of viewers choose to watch commercials online through social media just for their entertainment value (Teixeira, T & Stipp, H 2013). The fact that it’s not clear that the film is for promotional purposes after first viewing has actually worked in its favour as it has meant that more people have shared it. It is evident that creating a pleasurable experience was at the forefront of Pllieva’s mind when making ‘FIRST KISS’. This, in turn, transfers positive associations between the content and the brand.
Conclusion
The short length of the video and the artistic choices made during production speak to the digital native, encouraging this target market to first click the video out of curiosity but then stay and watch on account of its homeliness and pacing. ‘FIRST KISS’ is a simple artistic representation of complex human emotions and therefore is an original idea executed in such a unique way. The emotive response felt by the viewer after watching ‘FIRST KISS’ means that they engage on an in-depth level and are more likely to forward on the content. The simplicity of the video also allows for user participation and further spread of the video.