Dive Brief:

• Duracell debuted a six-second video ad, "Slamtone," which reached No. 7 on YouTube's list of the top 20 bumper ads, according to a post on the Think With Google blog. It's part of the brand's latest campaign, "Trust is Power," and was designed to reach people in bite-sized bursts on mobile as a way to complement related 30-second ads.
• One key challenge in developing Slamtone, Duracell's VP of marketing Ramon Velutini said, was conveying a message of trust in just a few seconds. The ad won out against others because it paired the brand's iconic copper-top product imagery with an audible sound the brand has used in its advertising for years. "It is unquestionably Duracell," he said.
• The battery brand created the video with agencies Wieden+Kennedy and Spark Communications.

Dive Insight:

Like Duracell, many companies are integrating microvideos into their marketing mix. Super-short video spots haven't arrived without some controversy, but given the shifting digital landscape and more flexible ad options offered by social media platforms, interest in the six-second ad continues to grow. As more consumers shift away from TV and toward online streaming and mobile screens, bite-sized ads like Duracell's are designed to capitalize on consumers' plummeting attention spans and reach them with a unique hook that quickly conveys a brand's message.

For its part, Duracell appears to be experimenting with the format as a way to reinforce the message of its longer content.

"When it comes to video length, there’s a tendency to equate shorter with worse, because the industry isn’t accustomed to shorter just yet. It’s a different creative approach that requires different thinking," Eric Helin, Wieden+Kennedy's creative director, wrote for Think With Google.

The team behind Duracell's ad offered some tips for creating a successful 6-second spot, including using creative elements that are unique to a brand and focusing on and celebrating a product.

Last month, Fox Networks Group announced it would bring six-second ads to TV, first airing during the Teen Choice Awards to reach the younger demographic that's generally in tune with mobile devices and developments. Lowe's recently crammed 64 microvideos — each less than a second long — into a 35-second Instagram video optimized for mobile.

However, the ad format doesn't come without its challenges or pushback. Agency creatives have criticized six-second spots, insisting that ads shorter than 30 seconds stifle creativity and keep brands from connecting with viewers, per Business Insider.