The ring is a fantastic horror film that still gives me the chills. I easily remember the emblematic poster of the film, which presents a white ring on a black background and a frightening title police – I only saw the film in the years after its first release, but even the thought It scared me. I am therefore very confusing as to the reason why Instagram has chosen a similar atmosphere for the beginnings of Instagram Rings, a new “price” which is intended to celebrate creators and creativity.
Instagram has gathered a panel of judges, which includes Spike Lee, Marc Jacobs, BROWNLEE brands and, UH, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, to “name their favorite creators and vote for whom they think they deserve a place on the final list”. The creators who win obtain a real physical ring, and on their Instagram profile, they will get a special golden ring that appears around their profile photo, can personalize their profile background color and can “put their own torsion” on the similar button, according to Meta. The first winners will be announced “soon”. (A promotional video includes a date of October 16 without context, so I suppose that it is at this point that they will be revealed).
But there are still a lot of questions about the prices themselves. What are the price criteria? How many people will be honored? Is it a unique thing, or something that Instagram plans to do regularly? How long will the creators keep the advantages of their profiles? Meta says that the famous price “those who are not afraid to take creative risks and do it.” What does that even mean? It’s weird that Meta doesn’t spend it all.
And the promotional art of Instagram rings is perhaps the strangest part of all, because it seems to be very inspired by The ring For a reason that I cannot understand, except for the fact that they both involve rings. Like this work of banner art:
And this image of judges:
And this official video on the rings:
Listen, I know I could worry too much about these similarities. But The ring One way of staying with you that makes this Instagram campaign stands out for reasons it should probably not.
Update, October 6: After the publication, Instagram spokesperson Katrina Estrella, said that Instagram rings will honor 25 winners, that Instagram hopes to do the program each year and that the winners will have access to the features of their profiles until the next round of winners. But Estrella did not explain why promotional equipment looks like art for The ring.