Toilet paper, overgrown hair and murder hornets: Reddit debuts its first year-in-review film
Campaign from R/GA also includes a thoughtful sing-a-long tune reflecting on the 'beautiful, rotten' year that was
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It’s customary for major tech brands and platforms to close out the year with a look back on their top moments, which largely reflect what happened in the greater world out there. While Youtube decided to opt out for 2020, last week Spotify released its “Wrapped” campaign and this week, Reddit debuted its first-ever year-in-review film.
Created out of R/GA, it’s a poignant encapsulation of the sorrowful, tragic, frightening, frustrating and delightful moments of 2020. It opens with a question posed on r/askReddit: “How could 2020 possibly get worse?” It then goes on to recount everything from what users did in quarantine (grew their hair really long, created art), to what we lost (beloved celebrities and figures like Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, Alex Trebek, John Prine, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Alex Trebek), to what broke our hearts and scared us sh*tless (COVID-19, murder hornets) and more. It’s told in the format of a sing-a-long video, accompanied by a charming, folksy acoustic track.
“It’s a burning tire, a dumpster fire, a who ya gonna hire, an out of tune choir, a trip over your laces, fall down on your rear, it’s a beautiful, rotten, never to be forgotten kind of year,” the soundtrack’s crooner sings before the ad closes with the line: “Thank you all for making this a year we’ll never forget. No matter how hard we try.”
The film coincides with Reddit’s report on the topics, communities that defined the platform in 2020, including the most upvoted post of the year—a photo meme darling Rick Astley posted of him on a bike during his first world tour:
I’ve found a few funny memories during lockdown. This is from my 1st tour in 89, backstage in Vegas. from r/pics
It also features the most upvoted AMAs, the top one being Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat promoting his new film’s debut on Amazon Prime.
Jagshemash. My name Borat. My new moviefilm is streams in Amazon. Please you will watch then spray me with questions. I strong, I have survive syphilis 17 time, I can take whatever you want pump on me! AMA! from r/movies
The company reported that in 2020 it had 52 million daily active users, up 44% compared to last year; it saw 303.4 million posts, a 52.4 % jump from 2020; comments also rose 18.6% to 2 billion while upvotes also grew 53.8% at 49.2 billion.