The Meta-narrative

I recently met with a friend, Tom, and we had an interesting discussion about the power of the meta-narrative - creating universes that extend stories from movies and films into our lives. We spoke about how a narrative can extend across platforms, and how interpretations and experiences can vary according to space, place and individuals. People experience stories on many levels, filling-in different gaps as they unite to decipher narrative code.

As the father of a one and a half year-old little girl, Roosa, Tom witnessed the narrative unfold in both virtual and physical worlds, where In the Night Garden's key characters, Iggly Piggly and Upsy Daisy, came to life in a universe all her own. The Night Garden spilled from the television set and into her home, where for Roosa, the show didn't end, but just continued in a different way on her living room floor as she played with her dolls and extended the Night Garden universe.

This made me think of some great examples of brand transmedia stories, from Blair Witch Project (one of the first films to use a website as a storytelling tool), Watchmen to True Blood.

It also reminded me of an old blog post by Henry Jenkins, the author of Convergence Culture and Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, that discusses how the narrative can also move into layered nuanced meanings which can speak to multiple audiences; each discovering different hidden meanings and associations.

Jason Oke of the Toronto based Leo Burnett agency moves transmedia away from the narrative and focuses on the notion of layering. He points to the 2006 Burger King commercial to best illustrate this:

On the surface, it's a jingle about the new Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch chicken sandwich. But you might also notice that the guy singing the song is Darius Rucker from 90's band (and pop culture trivia item) Hootie & the Blowfish. Or that the jingle itself is based on the old hobo ballad and Burl Ives classic "Big Rock Candy Mountain." Or that it was directed by iconic photographer David LaChapelle with all kinds of sexual imagery, both hetero and homo. Or that model and TV host Brooke Burke makes a cameo at the end (she's often used in BK ads). But you probably wouldn't notice all of those things, and in fact I'd be surprised if the same people who know who David LaChapelle is are also into turn-of-the century hobo ballads (I'm guessing those circles don't tend to overlap much).

But more to the point, not getting some or all of the references doesn't detract from the main brand message (there's a new chicken sandwich), because each bit also stands on its own. By having lots of detail, though, it gives fans of the brand something to notice and talk about and deconstruct. So you might have missed some of the details but someone else can point them out, and this gives you a deeper appreciation of it, and completes your picture of the whole a bit more.



Henry Jenkins waxes lyrical on the subject of transmedia storytelling, which he defines as, "a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story."

It would seem that transmedia storytelling is best suited for the entertainment industry, but I'm interested in seeing how we craft brand stories that enable and ignite differentiated narrative extensions that work across multiple platforms in exciting and highly engaging ways. Not just thinking of how to repurpose content to fit within digital or experiental spaces, but to develop new iterations or novellas, with an in-depth understanding of how people will use, interact and experience the stories across these channels.