Our goal was to design a short-form vertical video social media series that disrupts passive scrolling by leveraging psychology, humor, and audience participation - without paid media.
How did we end up creating a series that generated 113 MILLION VIEWS... and 2.8 MILLION INTERACTIONS - organically?
THE INSIGHT:
In today’s short-form video landscape, audiences are increasingly resistant to polished brand messaging. We observed that content performs best when it: 1 - respects the viewer’s intelligence / 2 - acknowledges internet humor / 3 - invites participation
As a response, we developed a short-form vertical series that uses psychology, humor, and participatory culture to turn passive viewers into active participants across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube Shorts, using a consistent, repeatable structure.
OUR IDEA:
Each video opens with the familiar warning, “Don’t Try This At Home”. What follows is a visually impossible acrobatic feat performed by a Cirque du Soleil artist.
WHY THIS FORMULA WORKED:
- Instant hook: the phrase “Don’t Try This At Home” is culturally coded and curiosity-driven.
- Professional credibility: featuring expert acrobats makes the “warning” feel absurdly unnecessary.
- Psychological provocation: the exaggerated warning compels viewers to respond.
- Audience intelligence: the humor assumes the viewer is in on the joke.
- Community participation: the comment section becomes part of the content.
- Scalable design: one clear format, infinite executions.
- Native to vertical: framing, timing, perceived danger, and humor are optimized for short-form viewing.
AND VIEWERS DID RESPOND...WITH SHARP WITH AND HUMOR:
- “Guess what my ego says.”
- “Hold my beer. 😂”
- “AI video… 🤣 Just kidding. 👌👏”
- “Well, there go my evening plans!”
- “…What do you think my home looks like?!?”
- “Yes bro — because I totally have a jump park at home.”
- “Oh ok — I was about to try. Thank god you warned me.”
- “I appreciate that you think I’d try this at all.”
- “So I disobeyed you and tried it at home… you were right. Don’t try this. 🤕”
With a four-person content team, NO production budget and NO promotional spend, we produced 12 videos featuring 12 circus artists across multiple disciplines.
- 113 million total video views across platforms
- 2.8 million organic engagements (likes, comments, shares, saves)
- Exceptionally high comment-to-view ratios, signaling active participation - not passive consumption
WHY IT MATTERS:
This series reflects Cirque du Soleil’s evolution toward culturally fluent, platform-native storytelling. Rather than positioning the brand as untouchable spectacle, the series invites audiences to laugh, react, and play along - reinforcing Cirque du Soleil as both extraordinary and human.
Now, enjoy being tempted... to NOT try this at home:
- Tramp wall - Dima Kozub – JOYA – 97.8M views across platforms
- Teeterboard - Artem Gritsaenko – KOOZA – 9.6M views
- Powertrack - Thomas Chilvers - Alegría – 1.5M views
- Parkour - Remi Girard - 'Twas the Night Before – 715K views
- Tumbling - Masashi Taguchi - Michael Jackson ONE – 453K views
- Foot Juggling - Yue Zhao - OVO – 329K views
- Wushu - Jason Wong – KA – _185K views
- Acro Net - Mathieu Hubener – KURIOS – 227K views
- Hoop Diving - Edgar "Tommy" Castro Rodriguez - JOYA – 358K views
- Tramp wall - Łukas Gaszyński - JOYA – 480K views
- Hand balancing - Mihaela Karkia – JOYA – 116K views
- Tumbling - Yudai Fukumura - Michael Jackson ONE – 482K views
