Facebook Reportedly Pitching Cinemagraphs To Advertisers

Facebook is hoping to create more stop and stare moments for advertising in the News Feed.

AdWeek reported today that the social network is showing marketers a photo-video hybrid called cinemagraphs as an alternative to video advertising. Similar to animated GIFs, cinemagraphs are photographs that show continuous motion in an isolated part of the image. Cinemagraphs have been used in advertising to great effect by Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck, photographers who coined the term in 2011.

Done well, the format can be mesmerizing, which is obviously something that advertisers covet.

“You’re going to start seeing a ton of these on Facebook,” an advertising executive who has seen a guide produced by Facebook called “Hacking Facebook Autoplay” told AdWeek.

Facebook doesn’t support animated GIFs but cinemagraphs can be loaded as a video and since Facebook video autoplays in users News Feeds they could be an effective tool for marketers. And last week’s Instagram update to allow video to loop automatically should fit in nicely with cinemagraphs.

Burg and Beck have created ads for brands, including Saks Fifth Avenue and Lincoln Motor Co., on Tumblr, and Burg told AdWeek they have been receiving many inquiries about producing for Facebook.

“People can’t stop staring at them,” Burg said. “Isn’t that what advertisers want?”

A Facebook spokesman declined to comment.

You can read AdWeek’s story here.