The Ultimate Guide to the Video Brand Manifesto

What is a video brand manifesto?

Manifesto-style videos are in high demand among brands. They want a powerful tool to position themselves and showcase their mission and values. The best way to present their worldview is often through a highly emotional, visual video paired with powerful copy.

A manifesto video is a short presentation of your brand’s values and/or mission. It reflects your culture, your beliefs, your values, and above all your purpose as a brand. When done well, this type of video can be a powerful way to reach an audience that feels connected to what you do and wants to buy in.

But when a manifesto video is done clumsily, it can have the opposite effect and come across as opportunistic, salesy, or worse, soulless.

Are manifestos really useful?

Video brand manifestos are more popular and in demand than ever. You could even say they’re the new generation of corporate videos.

Personally, I’ve created several of these for various brands, as a creative or a producer. I’ve always been ambivalent about their real usefulness. Who actually wants to watch that? Why would anyone want to spend two minutes of their time listening to you talk about yourself? When it’s done well, a manifesto video hooks the audience, captivates them, and carries them into personal reflection. It’s a very particular balancing act. For me, there are three questions you need to be able to answer positively by the end of a manifesto:

• Do we believe it?
• Do we want to buy in?
• Do we want to share it?

The ingredients of a great manifesto video

To pull off a successful manifesto video, I’ve identified a few basic rules — or rather, recommendations. I say recommendations because there’s no absolute here. The manifesto video format is still evolving and still has surprises in store for us.

1. Start with why

Most marketing experts agree on this: Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why has been the most important recent catalyst for the brand manifesto. (You can revisit Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action.)

To sum up the excellent Start With Why, Sinek suggests that your brand needs to find its purpose (its objective, intention, reason for being) in order to inspire its audience and enlist them in its mission. Your manifesto needs to align with the brand’s Why, not its products or services (or the what, the how, etc.).

Sinek builds his theory on scientific findings. I won’t get into the details, but essentially the Why speaks to emotion and the brain’s limbic system, which controls the decision-making center. So putting the emphasis on your Why encourages people to take action.

That’s essentially why a good manifesto has to be rooted in your Why: without that ingredient, your manifesto will lack authenticity and become just another sales tool. “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe.” – Simon Sinek

2. There’s a message

And I’d even say: a single message.

And when I say message, that can also include a story that carries a message. You need to have something to say, something to tell. You need to want to speak up, to take on a certain leadership, and to reveal yourself openly. Beautiful visuals aren’t enough. Your video doesn’t need to be long, expensive, or complicated. It just needs to tell a true story. A short, simple testimonial can do the job.

In short: keep it simple. A brand manifesto needs to be able to picture and convey the full emotion of your mission. And your mission shouldn’t be a paragraph — at most, two sentences. “Don’t write prose. Write a rallying cry instead, using whatever medium you choose.” – strategist Mark Di Somma

3. They’re aspirational

Most manifesto videos speak of a future that hasn’t happened yet.

Personal fulfillment and growth are goals that most people set for themselves. The manifesto needs to go beyond the brand or the product. You need to give your audience the right to make your message and your Why their own. That way, your audience can picture the same future you do and rally behind you. So you absolutely need to include the audience as a partner in your manifesto. Think of it as a shared project.

A good manifesto video makes you feel emotions and reflect on your own goals. The ultimate aim is to generate a sense of ownership and to get shared.

4. They have an authentic point of view

It’s very easy to spot manifesto videos that aren’t authentic or that are just opportunistic. Audiences have very powerful bullshit filters. Let’s be honest: nobody is waiting for your video, and most people couldn’t care less. You’ll only reach a fraction of the population — and only if every ingredient is in place. Your manifesto doesn’t need to win everyone over. You need to speak in your own voice and say things that are true. It’s not a reflection of who you wish you were, but rather of who you are right now and what you aspire to.

Manifesto video clichés

There are a few traps to watch out for when producing your manifesto. These are clichés found in a lot of these videos.

That doesn’t mean you have to avoid them at all costs, but be aware that they’re very common and maybe less original than you’d think.

• Dynamic youth with their whole life ahead of them and nothing to lose
• A succession of close-ups on faces looking straight at the camera
• Close-ups of eyes
• Shots following people from behind
• Shots from behind of people looking out at the city’s skyscrapers
• People doing things “outside their comfort zone”
• People doing things “their own way”
• The slow-versus-fast juxtaposition
• References to modern life moving too fast
• Time passing
• A rapid-fire juxtaposition of words or mentions of people
• Small moments of everyday life
• Aerial shots of highways, ports, or places that emphasize lines and movement
• Tunnels or roads in time-lapse
• Interconnected people communicating with each other no matter where they are
• Portraits of people posing in front of a colorful background

9 examples with one or more clichés

Here are a few videos that contain some of the clichés mentioned above. Keep in mind, just because they didn’t make my top list doesn’t mean they’re all bad. Some of them have really impressive production quality.

In fact, I’ve ranked them in order of preference. (Top 17 of my favorite videos)

Ardene – We Culture

I hesitated before including it here, because I really like this video, as well as the agency that produced it. There’s some really beautiful production quality and a nice message, but I question its real usefulness and effectiveness.

Vicunha Jeansidentity

Very beautiful, but very product-focused. Somewhat in the same vein as the Ardene video. I question its usefulness.

Knorr

I especially like the intro, where a man invites us to follow him into the party. It’s a nice welcome. But in the end, it’s still vegetable products, and the connection isn’t very clear.

HYUNDAI ‘Manifesto

A video of exceptional quality that could work well in certain contexts. But coming from Hyundai, we have our doubts.

Sem Parar – Manifesto

A video packed with clichés but that still keeps us captivated, thanks to a great production. For anyone wondering, Sem Parar is a vehicle identification system in Brazil.

Sol – Manifesto

A very catchy video about the idea of following your passion, but full of clichés.

Tylenol – Manifesto

It’s clear that after watching this manifesto, you’ll need some Tylenol yourself.

We are Everise

This is clearly a corporate video, with generic copy written by committee.

My top 17 video brand manifestos

Here’s my best-of list. They have the ingredients of a successful manifesto, namely:

• We believe it.
• We buy in.
• We want to share them

In order of my preference.

DO WHAT YOU CAN’T

Okay, this one isn’t tied to a company but to an individual, Casey Neistat. This video is the quintessence of a great manifesto video. Casey later made a deal with Samsung, which adopted this campaign theme, with somewhat less success.

(you can see an example here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/6641200/video/331152587 )

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Magnum – The Will

Second place in my ranking, and just barely. Is it a manifesto? Not explicitly, but the video has all the ingredients. I’ll let you discover it for yourself.

Fido – Go Get It

This is a manifesto disguised as an ad, drawing a parallel between Fido the dog and the customer. I simply love this very catchy video, which also has excellent production quality.

UQAM | 100 millions d’idées

An exception to the rule. A video with plenty of clichés, but every one of them is relevant in context. Do we believe it? Yes!

FACEBOOK OUR FRIENDS MANIFESTO

There are plenty of clichés in this beautiful video. Given the nature of the product (Facebook), this manifesto strikes a chord and hits its target.

BLITZ: Our Manifesto

The format chosen creates immediate engagement. I love the tone. A clever video that didn’t cost too much either.

Sumol Manifesto

I didn’t understand the narration, but I understood the message.

Jasmin – What If Manifesto

A good example of a mood video that can work as a manifesto. There are few words, but the message is clear.

Precision Run | The Manifesto

Another example of a mood video that carries just one very simple message.

squarespace / manifesto

Proof that a good manifesto doesn’t need to be complicated or far removed from the product.

Canada Goose | Unweathered

This manifesto sets a particular mood through its tone and colors. That mood becomes one of the elements of the message.

EON Manifesto

A fun video that cleverly plays on the paradox between comfort zone and trying new things.

« Manifesto » | OLA Energy

I almost put this in the clichés list, but after watching it again, the video felt credible to me. It has to be said, it’s not easy for an energy company to pull off something convincing.

PowerBar Manifesto

If this had been for another product, this video might have come across as pompous and over the top. But given the product’s target audience, we believe it.

LOACKER // MANIFESTO // DC

Kids and memories are always a safe bet, especially for a cookie company.

Telenor – Manifesto TVC

I found that this manifesto had a very true and authentic message.

WOW App – Manifesto

There are plenty of clichés and paradoxes in this video, but it remains surprising and pushes us to reflect.

Do you need help thinking through your Why, or creating and producing a manifesto video?

Get in touch with us: https://sparkling.ca/contact/