A look at ScoopWhoop, Dentsu Webchutney's campaign for GIF, a 30-year-old image format

GIF is an acronym for Graphic Interchange Format.

Graphic Interchange Format, popularly known as GIF, has come a long way. What started as an image format with lossless data compression that made images smaller in file size 30 years back, has now become a form of visual shorthand - a language that draws on culturally resonant moments to communicate the full range of human emotions in just a few seconds. This language is far more expressive and expansive than modern day shorthand such as, 'LOL', 'ILY' or 'OMG'.

As a tribute to GIF, ScoopWhoop launched a month-long campaign to celebrate the 30th birthday of the image format on June 15, 2017 - the day GIFs turned 30. Conceptualised by Dentsu Webchutney, the campaign was carried out on Facebook and Twitter using #30YearsOfGIF. A campaign microsite was also created which showcased all 30 GIF.

Talking to afaqs! about the initiative, Gurbaksh Singh, chief creative technologist, Dentsu Webchutney, says, "Today, most events are showcased through GIFs. The brief was pretty simple and straightforward. Being an internet media and news company, ScoopWhoop uses GIFs to connect with its audience. Hence, as a tribute to this digital art form, they wanted to celebrate the 30th birthday of GIFs."

The '30 Years of GIF' campaign showcases major events of the past 30 years - such as fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela released from jail, terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre, launch of Facebook and many more - through 30 interesting GIFs. These were no ordinary GIFs. For every GIF a new miniature installation was created mechanically and programmed to play in a loop. Then they were filmed.

"The key events were decided after a painstaking process. We did a lot of deliberation before arriving on the final list. The events were chosen on the basis of their impact on our lives. Technology, movies, pop culture, global events were a few categories from which the most historic events chosen. Just like GIF shaped the world we live in, most of the events on the list too changed the world," Singh explains.

Catch a glimpse of the '30 Years of GIF' campaign.

GIF is born
Click on the image to see the animation

The historic fall of the Berlin Wall
Click on the image to see the animation

Nelson Mandela released from jail after 27 years
Click on the image to see the animation

World’s first website goes live
Click on the image to see the animation

World Trade Center hit by terrorism
Click on the image to see the animation

The world finds a friend in Facebook
Click on the image to see the animation

America elects its first black president
Click on the image to see the animation

Usain Bolt becomes the fastest man on earth
Click on the image to see the animation

Malala Yousafzai becomes the youngest Nobel laureate
Click on the image to see the animation

GIF completes 30 years
Click on the image to see the animation

Credits

Gurbaksh Singh - Chief Creative Technologist

Hemant Kumar - Interactive Lead

Vishal Sagar - Associate Creative Director, Copy

Akshay Anand - Senior Copywriter

Thanglalson Ngaihte - Junior Producer

Sumantra Talukdar - Junior Producer

Sachin Kumar Verma - Art Director

Rakesh Bairwa - Tech Head

Vipin Kumar - Senior UI Developer

Anurag Kumar - Senior Technical Architect