Vimeo Can Help With Everything (Well, One Thing) in Quirky New Ads

Vimeo is very much focused on video creators, not video consumers. And so is its big new ad campaign, which promises “Vimeo can help” if you’re in a jam—but only with your video needs. 

Arts & Sciences director Alex Prager and creative agency Fig (formerly Figliulo & Partners) shot 14 colorful spots showing all sorts of weird predicaments, from a squeezable mustard bottle gone berserk to an awkward date at a lascivious movie theater. 

The snappy text at the end promises assistance, but with an asterisk. Check out a handful of the videos here: 

Prager joined Arts & Sciences about a year ago. She was perfect for this campaign, Vimeo said, because her often-surreal work tends to blur the line between reality and fiction—as seen in “Touch of Evil,” her Emmy-winning video series for The New York Times from 2011, in which famous actors portrayed caricatures of cinematic villains. 

“What she delivered was nothing short of art: it was visually stimulating, playful, a little strange and—most importantly—it perfectly captured the spirit and humor of Vimeo,” the company said of Prager’s new videos. 

“What drew me to this project was the opportunity to tell stories of unique individuals that make up a world in rich detail,” Prager said. “Vimeo was open to the characters being strange and having weird little moments in their lives that make them more endearing. I was able to create these tiny stories that highlight the awkward moments in life we can all relate to.” 

She added: “I hope Vimeo continues this series of videos because this is what I personally want to watch when I’m exposed to advertisements for something. I also like that this isn’t an overt and obvious advertisement—they are short films. It’s very clever of Vimeo because their focus was to create high-quality slices of life to connect with people rather than to sell a product.” 

Prager said she shot everything practical, in camera, and that her favorites are the spots above: “Speech,” “Laser Pointer,” “Tea Time” and “Whale.” 

There is also an out-of-home element to the campaign. Check out some of those executions below. 

Vimeo will spend $10-$15 million to run the new campaign, according to the Wall Street Journal. The target audience includes companies that believe they should create more video, often without the help of ad agencies. 

Instead of relying on ad revenue, Vimeo subsists on a subscription model, charging for things like analytics, collaboration tools and live streaming—as well as hosting commercial content. 

Vimeo’s revenue grew 28 percent in the fourth quarter to $44.2 million, and subscribers rose 9 percent to 952,000, per WSJ. 

See the rest of the videos and OOH ads below. 

CREDITS

Agency Credits
Creative Agency: FIG
Founder/Partner: Mark Figliulo
CEO/Partner: Judith Carr-Rodriguez
CCO/Partner: Scott Vitrone
Chief Content Officer/Partner: Robert Valdes
Chief Strategy Officer/Partner: Caroline Krediet
Creative Director: Spencer LaVallee
Design Director: Max Friedman
Copywriters: Spencer LaVallee, Max Friedman, Kelsey Heard, Reilly Schlitt, Ian Reichenthal
Art Directors: Max Friedman, Kelsey Heard
Executive Producer: Jill Landaker Grunes
Associate Producer: Jennifer Hart
Director of Integrated Business Affairs: Sara Jagielski
Executive Director, Client Services: Finnian O’Neill
Account Supervisor: Maxie Etess
Project Manager: Amna Siddiqui

Production Credits
Production: Arts & Sciences
Director: Alex Prager
EP: Mal Ward
Head of Production: Christa Skotland
Producer: Scott Kaplan
Director of Photography: Ross Richardson
Production Designer: Roberto Bonelli
Editorial and Finishing: Mack Cut
Executive Producer: Gina Pagano
Editors: Gavin Cutler /Pamela Petruski
Sound Designer & Mixer: Sam Shaffer
Conform/FX: Schmigital (Mack Cut)
Colorist: Jason Wallis at Electric Theatre

Vimeo Credits
CEO: Anjali Sud
CMO: Harris Beber
Head of Creative: Graham Douglas
Director of Brand Marketing: Courtney Horwitz