{"id":22218,"date":"2022-12-09T12:26:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T12:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/09\/tiktok-star-smac-wants-to-help-brands-make-better-ads\/"},"modified":"2022-12-09T12:26:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T12:26:37","slug":"tiktok-star-smac-wants-to-help-brands-make-better-ads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/09\/tiktok-star-smac-wants-to-help-brands-make-better-ads\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok Star Smac Wants to Help Brands Make Better Ads"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When Sarah McCreanor, known professionally as Smac, walks onto a commercial set dominated by intricate props, high-end green screens and an intimidating collection of cameras, she is confident that the directors, producers and costume designers have no idea she can present any product to an attentive audience of\u00a02.7 million just by logging onto TikTok.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I book a role, it\u2019s because I\u2019m a young woman with red hair, not because of who I am or my skill set necessarily,\u201d she said. \u201cAuditions are usually two minutes long, so there is really no time to share my personality and what I can do at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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McCreanor has risen to fame by creating satirical interpretations that capitalize on the internet\u2019s obsession with watching things getting crushed in slow motion\u2014she\u2019ll dress in orange and move to the pace of a can of pureed pumpkin falling from grace, for example. But when she\u2019s not curating both personal and sponsored content on social media, McCreanor spends a generous bulk of her time auditioning for commercials. In the past nine years, her acting and dancing skills have landed her roles in 70 different commercials across linear, streaming and digital platforms.<\/p>\n

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When directors tap A-list celebrities to star in commercials<\/a>, they have nixed the traditional casting process and decided that banking on a famous face is a justifiable investment in brand clout. Agencies may instead go the route of on an open call, but in a digital climate where anyone with an internet connection can create their own fanbase, the junior actors who have seemingly yet to establish a notable platform could be making the majority of their income entertaining a loyal audience online. And when directors don\u2019t properly vet these actors\u2019 backgrounds, they\u2019ve missed the opportunity to collaborate with talent who have mastered the art of both social media marketing and content creation\u2014two prized skills in the eyes of any marketer.<\/p>\n

Making the expensive look cheap<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Using large budgets to shoot lo-fi content or conform to social media trends is nothing new\u2014just look at this year\u2019s Uber Eats\u2019 Super Bowl ad<\/a>\u2014but marketers working tirelessly to align with internet culture is especially ironic when someone who has nailed that years ago is sitting on their set.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Janni Widerholm, social creative lead at TBWA<\/a> and a TikTok creator herself, said that inviting hybrid actor-creator talent onto commercial sets, with the expectation that they will promote the campaign on their social channels, has become increasingly common. While some agencies are breaking down the silos between traditional ad campaigns and influencer marketing by recruiting creators\u2014typically the Addison Raes of the world\u2014for 360 campaigns that include both linear and social assets, inquiring into an auditioning actor\u2019s background isn\u2019t commonplace. According to Kirsten Rutherford, executive creative director at TBWA\/Chiat\/Day LA, casting directors tend to be most concerned with whether the auditioning actor has worked for a competitor in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an actor, we are so involved yet so far removed from the entire production,\u201d said McCreanor, who owns production studios in downtown Los Angeles and has created social media content for brands like Netflix, Levi\u2019s and Warner Brothers. \u201cIt\u2019s a great job that I\u2019ll never turn down, but I do think you don\u2019t need to spend $5 million dollars to do a TikTok dance on a TV commercial when it can go viral in five seconds on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow-moving industry<\/strong><\/h4>\n

While McCreanor leans on the commercial industry as a significant source of income and is grateful for the work, she is unafraid to critique its moments of extravagance, inefficiency and cultural oblivion. She remembers sitting in a dressing room for hours while crew debated on whether wearing a sandal with a short heel was too provocative, only for her feet to not be shown in the spot. In another case, a brand had a \u201chuge panic attack on set\u201d when she walked backwards, as the directors decided that her silhouette wasn\u2019t appropriate for the commercial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never taken any of this personally, but there are so many conversations about details that no one cares about,\u201d she said, adding that it would be nice to see Old Navy show viewers a midriff or experiment with a less boring hairstyle once in a while. \u201cIt sucks that brands think they have to be so incredibly safe and not take risks while the rest of the world is way ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n