My Morning Scroll.
6:42 am pst.
Wake up. Check phone. Open Twitter. Go through my timeline as if it's the newspaper.
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Scr- STOP. Scroll back up.
The other morning I woke up and my morning routine was brought to an abrupt halt. With Twitter’s 240 character limit to each post most tweets are only about three to four lines in length as the interaction between an audience and any user will be lost otherwise. The only exception to this is that of advertisements which tend to take up a full screen. But this unusual ad was not “promoted by Twitter;” rather it came from an account I actually followed. The tweet came from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the infamous creator of Hamilton: An American Musical, and as you can see in the link below, was advertising American Express in the most subtle of ways.
The video shows Lin-Manuel going throughout his normal everyday life as the charming voice over and accompanying music make you feel as if you are one of the close members in his inner circle. It is as if you are watching him create his next theatrical masterpiece and it only furthers the pride you feel. Admittedly it was 6:43 in the morning and I was in bed with tears brimming my eyes because of the sweet nature of the advertisement. But the last five seconds of the minute long video, reminded me that it was just that—an advertisement. I had barely woken up and missed all the subtle signs that this was an ad until those last two seconds. Very subtly but surely American Express is marketing their company to you by selling it less. But if you’re anything like me you may assume it is just a short film meant to tug at your heart strings until those last five seconds.
In an array of shots that display an American Express card in the back of Mr. Miranda’s phone case to the tiny American Express sticker on the window of a cab taking Lin-Manuel to the Richard Rogers theatre while he is “hit with inspiration” as the voice over suggests, the subtle message of “join American Express” is there. Throughout the video he visits many of his colleagues and friends while alluding to the journey he took on the road to his success and to Hamilton by referencing songs from the play. But during the last ten seconds he tells his audience “You get to create the room where it happens. Just don’t think you have to do it alone,” as the ad then moves from him playing the piano to his wife smiling at him. The frame then shows the two of them around a piano and the voice over continues to tell the audience, “Go out into the world knowing someone has your back,” as a credit card is drawn around him. The suggestions always ensuring the audience that American Express will be the friend that has your back and only reminding you that it is an advertisement when it finishes with Lin-Manuel overlooking New York and stating “The powerful backing of American Express. Don’t live life without it.” And to think American Express was able to pack this much content into only sixty seconds of my daily Twitter scroll.
Wake up. Check phone. Open Twitter. Go through my timeline as if it's the newspaper.
Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Scr- STOP. Scroll back up.
The other morning I woke up and my morning routine was brought to an abrupt halt. With Twitter’s 240 character limit to each post most tweets are only about three to four lines in length as the interaction between an audience and any user will be lost otherwise. The only exception to this is that of advertisements which tend to take up a full screen. But this unusual ad was not “promoted by Twitter;” rather it came from an account I actually followed. The tweet came from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the infamous creator of Hamilton: An American Musical, and as you can see in the link below, was advertising American Express in the most subtle of ways.
So we made this over the summer!— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 30, 2018
Very proud to be working with @AmericanExpress, supporting small businesses in my community, and boy was it fun to make an ad in my 'hood uptown, with my friends & loved ones. Enjoy.#AmexLife #AmexAmbassador pic.twitter.com/cYdK9ufELY
The video shows Lin-Manuel going throughout his normal everyday life as the charming voice over and accompanying music make you feel as if you are one of the close members in his inner circle. It is as if you are watching him create his next theatrical masterpiece and it only furthers the pride you feel. Admittedly it was 6:43 in the morning and I was in bed with tears brimming my eyes because of the sweet nature of the advertisement. But the last five seconds of the minute long video, reminded me that it was just that—an advertisement. I had barely woken up and missed all the subtle signs that this was an ad until those last two seconds. Very subtly but surely American Express is marketing their company to you by selling it less. But if you’re anything like me you may assume it is just a short film meant to tug at your heart strings until those last five seconds.
In an array of shots that display an American Express card in the back of Mr. Miranda’s phone case to the tiny American Express sticker on the window of a cab taking Lin-Manuel to the Richard Rogers theatre while he is “hit with inspiration” as the voice over suggests, the subtle message of “join American Express” is there. Throughout the video he visits many of his colleagues and friends while alluding to the journey he took on the road to his success and to Hamilton by referencing songs from the play. But during the last ten seconds he tells his audience “You get to create the room where it happens. Just don’t think you have to do it alone,” as the ad then moves from him playing the piano to his wife smiling at him. The frame then shows the two of them around a piano and the voice over continues to tell the audience, “Go out into the world knowing someone has your back,” as a credit card is drawn around him. The suggestions always ensuring the audience that American Express will be the friend that has your back and only reminding you that it is an advertisement when it finishes with Lin-Manuel overlooking New York and stating “The powerful backing of American Express. Don’t live life without it.” And to think American Express was able to pack this much content into only sixty seconds of my daily Twitter scroll.
Comments
Post a Comment