Challenge In 2004, the new publishers of Glamour Magazine wanted to improve its image in an effort to attract new advertisers. Given the success of BMW’s revolutionary short film series, the publishers wanted to connect to Hollywood and create their own short film series. They wanted to do so in a manner that would stay true to their brand as an empowering force, connected to mainstream women readers.
Campaign idea At a time when women directors were far too scarce, the partners of Freestyle proposed a series that would give high profile women the chance to get behind the camera. Glamour readers were encouraged to submit short essays about transformative moments in their lives. Freestyle chose the best stories and worked with women filmmakers to adapt them into ten-minute films. The films would be presented at a big Hollywood premiere, would be submitted to festivals around the world, and would be available for screening online.
Results In 2005, Reel Moments was launched and five films were created and premiered. Each film had its own corporate sponsor, and Glamour successfully lured new advertisers to their magazine. The short film “Deal Breakers” by Gwyneth Paltrow was accepted to the Sundance Film Festival and the short film “Gnome” by Jenny Bicks was accepted to the Berlin Film Festival. With both critical acclaim and a successful media campaign, the program would continue each year through 2011, creating a total of twenty short films, directed by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The directors included Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Olivia Wilde, Eva Longoria, Zoe Saldana, Kate Hudson, Rachel Weisz, Kirsten Dunst, Bryce Dallas Howard, Eva Mendes, Jessica Biel, Trudie Styler and Rita Wilson.
Each year a new sponsor would come on board, as a part of an overall ad-buy for the magazine, creating new advertising relationships for the publication. The program generated billions of media impressions for the sponsors. The award winning films were accepted to most major film festivals including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara.
