Fondly
A launch campaign for Meta and TikTok for a new StoryTerrace brand, built on a recurring cast and told as short films rather than talking heads.
Fondly is a new brand from StoryTerrace, the life story company where I was CMO. I created the brand and its first product prototype, then developed and produced the launch campaign for Meta and TikTok.
Before writing a script I looked at what the category already runs. All 59 live US Meta ads from StoryWorth and Remento, the two leaders, were talking-head testimonials. That left room for a different kind of ad.
services
outcomes
Made through my studio Sibling, on Scenry, my own AI production system.
A whole category of talking heads.
The research showed three things the leaders don't do. They don't have a face people come back to. They almost never tell the story from the buyer's own point of view: the category sells to adult children chasing a reluctant parent, and only one ad in 155 did otherwise. And they show no memories, only people talking about them.
So the campaign does all three: a recurring cast, a father telling his own story, and generated 8mm footage of the memories he describes.
A face people come back to.
Brands built on a character gain from recognition, so the cast stays the same while the angle, the hook and the emotional beat change from ad to ad. The plan is four characters across eight concepts each. I started with the first character: a testimonial, a two-hander with lip-synced dialogue and a lifestyle film, each in 9:16 and 4:5.
The voice carries it.
Most of the category's testimonials run on one or two cuts, so the voice does the work and the picture supports it. Each ad is built on one performance take, with short memory scenes cut over it. Cutdowns wait for data: the plan is to cut down the winners after a week or so in market, not before.
The storyboard, one frame per shot, made on Scenry, my own AI production system.
credits
- Client
- Fondly, a StoryTerrace brand
- My role
- Brand, campaign strategy, creative direction and production
- Studio
- Sibling
- Made with
- Scenry, my own AI production system
- Channels
- Meta and TikTok
If you're launching a brand and want a campaign made this way, book a call.