Vertical Drama Advertising Has a Shock Value Problem
My biggest frustration with the vertical drama industry right now isn't the shows themselves.
It's the way they're being advertised.
Ironically, I discovered vertical dramas through social media adverts. Like many viewers, I was hooked by a dramatic clip and wanted to know what happened next. I downloaded the app, bought a subscription and kept watching.
The strategy worked.
But that was two years ago.
So why are marketing teams still relying on exactly the same tactics?
Shock value was a good launch strategy
When vertical dramas first emerged, they needed a way to stand out.
Social media rewards content that immediately grabs attention, and few things achieve that more effectively than danger, confrontation and cliffhangers.
It helped introduce millions of people to an entirely new format.
The problem is that the industry appears to have become stuck there.
Rather than evolving its marketing, many campaigns seem to rely on increasingly extreme violence, bullying, humiliation and abuse in an attempt to recreate the same success.
That isn't innovation.
It's escalation.
Bigger shocks don’t build better audiences
It seems clear that companies recognise audiences have become accustomed to earlier marketing techniques.
Instead of changing direction, many productions appear to have responded by making villains more violent, threats more outrageous and scenes more disturbing.
The result is an industry increasingly attracting attention for the wrong reasons.
Public discussion around vertical dramas often focuses on violence against women, misogyny, sexual assault, humiliation and the casual inclusion of date rape drugs.
That isn't the reputation any entertainment industry should want.
Platforms need to decide what kind of future they want.
Do they want to be known for producing genuinely compelling television in a vertical format?
Or do they want to continue relying on rage bait where women are beaten, abused and humiliated for extended periods simply to drive engagement?
Shock value may win the initial click.
It doesn't necessarily build loyal audiences.
Personally, I've skipped series starring actors I genuinely enjoy simply because I couldn't face sitting through yet another story built around relentless violence.
That isn't fair on audiences.
It certainly isn't fair on the actors.
You can’t simply choose not to watch
The frustrating part is that I can choose not to watch those series.
Except I can't.
Every time I scroll through Instagram Reels, I'm served another advert.
Often I'll watch for a few seconds because I recognise an actor and wonder what their latest project is.
Instead, I find myself watching women being punched, slapped, stripped, sexually humiliated or otherwise abused while crowds stand by cheering or refusing to intervene.
Even when I actively avoid those shows, I still end up seeing those scenes because they're being used as marketing.
That isn't a viewing choice.
It's unavoidable advertising.
What about younger viewers?
What concerns me even more is that these adverts aren't only appearing in my feed.
They're also appearing in the feeds of teenagers and young adults.
At a time when many countries are seeing renewed concern around misogyny, coercive behaviour and violence against women, repeatedly presenting these images as entertainment risks normalising them.
I'm not suggesting a single advert changes someone's behaviour.
But repeated exposure matters.
Media influences culture, particularly when audiences are young and still developing their understanding of relationships, consent and acceptable behaviour.
If platforms repeatedly present violence and humiliation as normal storytelling devices, they should at least ask themselves what messages they're reinforcing.
AI voiceovers create another problem
The advertising itself has also changed.
Increasingly, I'm seeing AI-generated voiceovers attached to promotional clips.
These voiceovers often invent completely new storylines that bear little resemblance to the show that was actually filmed.
In doing so, they completely change the work created by writers, directors, editors and actors.
Worse still, actors often appear to have little or no warning that this has happened.
Imagine waking up to a phone call from your mum asking why you never mentioned you'd starred in a series about needing to masturbate one hundred times a day—only to discover the original production had nothing to do with that storyline and an AI-generated voiceover had completely rewritten the premise for social media.
Whether intended as satire, clickbait or marketing optimisation, it leaves actors blindsided and potentially damages their professional reputation.
It also undermines the credibility of the entire vertical drama industry.
Marketing should build trust
We are frequently told that creatives cannot be paid wages that reflect the significant revenues generated by many platforms because such a large proportion of income is reinvested into advertising.
If that's the case, audiences should expect advertising that builds the industry's reputation rather than damages it.
Marketing should make viewers excited to watch.
It should make actors proud of the work they've created.
It should encourage people to see vertical dramas as an exciting new form of entertainment.
Instead, too often it relies on violence, humiliation, misleading AI-generated narration and outrage.
As someone who genuinely loves vertical dramas and enjoys championing emerging talent, I'd like to see the marketing evolve.
The format deserves better.
The actors deserve better.
And the audience deserves better.
Writer - Diane Aitken
This article is an opinion piece. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and are based on the author's own observations and interpretation of publicly available content.
Publication by Vertical Drama Love does not constitute endorsement of every opinion expressed. Vertical Drama Love remains committed to encouraging thoughtful discussion on issues affecting the vertical drama industry while maintaining editorial independence.
