You Got Your Advertising in My Documentary!
I hadn't heard the term "adumentary" until I browsed the comments of the HYPERLYTE Liquid Performance Hans Troyer documentary. This isn't a new thing. Advertising and non-fiction video have been together for a while. It's just usually a sponsorship or ad placement. This felt different.
Around 16:30, the narrative abruptly shifts from Hans Troyer to a guy formulating a new supplement. And I was lost. I wasn't sure if the video had switched or something else was happening. I pay for Youtube premium so it shouldn't have been an actually commercial.
To be fair, part of my confusion came from playing this while at my remote job. A habit I have which leaves me only half remembering anything I watched, but while the tone of the video stayed the same, the language was so blatantly commercial that I looked up from what I was doing and checked.
Yep, same video. Then I realized it was by the HYPERLYTE guys. I didn't pay attention to the channel. I just saw it pop up and clicked. Scrolling down, I wanted some information, to see what the comments were saying. If it was all a commercial from that point, I was going to bail.
But the consensus was that, despite it being an ad (or a documentary with some advertising), it was a damn good one. So I kept it rolling. I'm not opposed to an ad. I work in marketing. Hell, I started this site just to talk about advertising and media in the running sphere. But I normally like it to be upfront and center.
They didn't need to label it as an ad or "adumentary" in the title. I understand that would have likely garnered less views. However, a little bit more about HYPERLYTE at the beginning would have been nice. But then again maybe it would have been a turn off. Maybe I needed the 16 minutes to get hooked into the story, even if I was watching it in the background while working.
It's kudos to the video makers. If the quality had been worse, I doubt many people would have stayed to watch it through. But the cinematography, editing, pacing, narrative all worked with the subject. It's just that 16:30 mark was a bit heavy handed. Though, I have no idea how else to weave it in without making it about HYPERLYTE with Hans as a secondary.
That wouldn't be a bad film either. I could watch the story of HYPERLYTE. The people behind it, how it was formulated, how the business was put together, positioning in the industry, sponsorship management. Anyone interested in the industry would eat that shit up.
I think the moral of this, as much morals as marketing can have, is that a good story is a good story. Just be honest about it and unapologetic. Unless of course everyone hates it then apologize with another campaign that hopefully picks up traction in the press. Luckily, HYPERLYTE didn't have to worry about that.
