“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward“, is a famous quote by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. I discovered this thought-provoking quote while reading Blake Crouch’s novel, Recursion.
That thought may be apt for life, but what about ads? Can ads be made backward—in reverse—to end with a point that is more impactful? Of course!
But there are several nuances to consider when telling a story in reverse, in advertising. To begin with, should the ad literally play in reverse (immediately gimmicky and slightly disorienting to the viewer; they need time to get what’s happening)? Or can it just be a series of shots that tell the story in reverse?
Here are 12 examples of advertising that uses the reverse story-telling technique.
1. NGO Refuge (Agency: McCann, Bristol)
Let me start with a print advertisement that uses the reverse story-telling technique – this is considerably more difficult than doing the same on video. The script needs to be written with a lot of careful thought.
The British NGO Refuge got McCann Bristol to write a series of print ads that tell a happy holiday story when read normally, but when read in reverse, they inform a story about domestic violence during the holidays.
Then, here are a set of ads that use the reverse idea literally – tell the story in reverse, with a gimmicky flourish that no doubt helps garner attention immediately.
2. Jordan (Nike), 2015 – The Winning Moment (Agency: Wieden + Kennedy)
The core of the ad is to communicate that the game need not be won on the court alone. It could be won in the mind long before the game even starts! To get the message, the reverse narrative works towards building the momentum towards that thought at the beginning (or at the end, as per the ad).
3. Dove, 2021 – Reverse Selfie (Agency: Ogilvy)
Dove’s powerful ad starts by showing a young girl through her selfie (on a smartphone screen), and continues to show in reverse how it was received online… till it finally lands on her real self in the real world. It’s literally the reverse of a selfie that’s shot and enhanced to make a point about how much enhancement really goes behind such efforts and how they affect young people.
4. The Syria Company, 2014 (Production Company: UNIT9)
The otherwise-gimmicky reverse video technique gains significance and produces massive impact depending on the dramatic difference between where it starts (ending, as per the linear narrative) and how it ends (or beginning, in the linear narrative). War, then, is a powerful plot point that can be accentuated significantly with this narrative device.
Understandably, this ‘With Syria’ ad starts with the most affecting scenes and moves on to something so utterly everyday and normal, thereby making the effect of war so utterly meaningless.
5. Les Georgettes, 2021 (Agency: Marystone, Paris)
The ad for the Georgettes bracelet is completely in reverse, but since it is choreographed with a bright and ebullient dance sequence, some of the reverse shots don’t fully show up (there are signs all around of course – the confetti flying upwards, cars moving in reverse). The idea is to place the product as the start of all the fun, and it works! If it was shot in a normal, linear narrative, it may not be as much fun 🙂
6. Mastercard, 2021 – Beginnings (FP7 McCann, Cairo)
Mastercard’s 2021 Egyptian ad features Amir Eid, frontman of Cairokee, one of the Middle East’s biggest rock bands, and Mayar Sherif, the first Egyptian woman to make it to the top 100 ranking in tennis. It starts with the 2 protagonists’ success and ends (fully told in reverse) with the moment when they were growing up and their parents were able to afford the necessary equipment that spurred their interest in music and sports, respectively!
7. U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs – Pivot Point (Agency: Reingold Associates)
Much like the war situation, self-harm/suicide is a very serious theme that can be impactfully brought alive with the reverse storytelling technique. In this film made for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, an army veteran ages gracefully, with his family by his side, but he was able to get this far because of a crucial decision he took much earlier in his life, and this arrives towards the end of the film (or the beginning of his life).
8. Reebok, 2019 – Back Where We Started (Agency: Venables Bell & Partners)
This Reebok 2019 ad is a unique take on the reverse storytelling series because even though the lead girl starts off in reverse (fitting into the shoe back from the pool), she is the only one walking straight (not in reverse) all through the rest of the ad! Everyone else is moving in reverse around her and even her own actions are in reverse, but she is moving forward! And in a nice, mind-bending twist, she gets back to the same pool from where she started. Cleverly added nuances in the reverse storytelling genre.
9. Vanmoof, 2021 – The Future is Forwards (Halal, Netherlands)
Electric bike maker Vanmoof makes the most contextually meaningful use of the reverse storytelling technique! Like the Reebok film above, only the protagonist (that you’d eventually see) moves forward, while everyone around her is moving backward! That reverse movement choice has a significant meaning though and is not used merely as a gimmick – it indicates that the one using an electric bike is the only one moving forward, while those stuck in the roads inside buses or in crowded roads (inside cars) in fossil-fuel driven vehicles are moving backward!
10. Heineken’s Orchard Thieves, 2017 – Start Bold/End Bold (Agency: Rothco)
Heineken’s cider brand Orchard Thieves launched a unique ad in 2017 that played around with the reverse story technique considerably more than many other attempts. When you start watching the ad, you see a group of friends enter a house party during the day and party through to the night. But then the ad starts again at the same point, but this time, the group enters the party during the night and party through the day and exit! Confused? That’s the entire point, probably to make you see the ad more than once 🙂 Brilliantly staged and executed!
Are there reverse ads that don’t literally play in reverse? Yes.
11. GE’s Giraffe incubator, 2014 (Agency: The One Centre)
GE’s 2014 ad film is digital-only (clocking 5+ minutes!), but the story is about the Caisley family and their premature twins Ethan and Noah. The reverse storytelling is not used literally – things do not move backward! Instead, it is just a collection of shots placed in reverse, back to the time when the twins’ mom realizes her pregnancy. The impact of the incubator forms the middle portion of the film, which it may have even if the story was told in normal order (it starts with the quote I have at the beginning of this post, by the way!). But instead of starting with complete strangers as protagonists, the film’s reverse technique helps GE start with a happy ending and then tell us how the happy ending arrived!
12. 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation, 2016 (Agency: Buzzman, Paris)
Among all the ads here, this one’s my absolute favorite! No literal reverse shots gimmick, but a mighty impactful story told so, so very beautifully! And right till the last shot, you won’t be able to guess what the plot is – you may think in multiple directions, but the very final shot will turn the entire story (that you have seen so far) on its head! The last shot and the text on screen is a hammer directed at your heart!
Bonus!
13. Volkswagen Trailer Assist (Agency: TRY/Apt Oslo, Norway)
This is perhaps the funniest use of the reverse storytelling theme, but with a fantastic twist that is perfectly contextual to what is being sold 🙂
When you have watched this, also watch how they pulled it off (though it is hinted briefly in the end).
Volkswagen Trailer Assist – Behind the scenes: