May 10, 2020

Tiktok's #ScoobDance campaign generated 1 billion views in 30 weeks

The Tiktok era of animated film promotion has arrived.

On May 3rd, Warner Bros. launched its #ScoobDance challenge on the hottest social media platform of the moment, the Chinese video sharing network Tiktok, as a promotion for the upcoming Warner Animation Group movie Scoob!

WB coordinated the brand partnership with 14-year-old TikTok personality Jalaiah Harmon, who recently created the choreography to the viral “Renegade” dance trend. For the #ScoobDance challenge, she choreographed a new dance using an original tune by Movers+Shakers. Her original video is below:

Other Tiktok personalities commissioned for the official campaign were @justmaiko, @hi.this.is.tatum, @mr_mrs_wash, @jelinuh, and @alaskatheshepsky.

Warner Bros. reports that the campaign reached 500 million views in less than two days, crossing one billion in views in three days, and three billion views in its first week. The most-liked piece is the clip by JustMaiko which has received 920,000 likes to date:

Due to the closure of theaters, Scoob! is skipping theaters and heading straight-to-VOD in the U.S. and Canada on May 15. Since the film will make its biggest splash in a virtual space, Warner Bros. seems to be trying out an online campaign strategy beyond traditional promotional outlets like television, billboards, and print.

The campaign at first glance appears to have been a success. Hundreds of unpaid Tiktokers have also participated by creating their own organic promotions for the film using the music for the dance. Their Tiktoks can be seen using the #ScoobDance tag on Tiktok. A few of them are displayed below: