In tandem with a reported $20 million funding round at a staggering $200 million valuation, David Dobrik’s nascent Dispo social media startup is developing its visual ethos.
The social media platform, which emphasizes a slower pace and unedited aesthetics — by mimicking the disposable camera process — has unveiled a new logo on its social accounts, as well as its first video ad.
The simple, sappy ad, shared yesterday to Dobrik’s second YouTube channel, sees him bedecked as an elderly version of himself, as he reminisces over Polaroid snapshots taken of the Vlog Squad in present time. As he weeps, a child — presumably his grandchild — appears, and they begin to play together as a a tearful piano ballad blasts in the background. The ad concludes with Dispo’s catchphrase, instructing viewers to ‘Live in the moment’.
Interestingly, the commercial was helmed by One Hour Photo director Mark Romanek. That 2002 thriller, starring Robin Williams, followed a photo technician who grows obsessed with a family whose photos he’s been developing for years — a clever nod to Dispo’s own origins. Dispo was born as an Instagram account and subsequently became a camera app that sought to mimic the experience of taking photos on a disposable camera. Now, the Dispo team is building a social network whereby users can capture photographs — without the use of any editing tools or filters, save for a back-facing camera flash — but must wait 24 hours for them to appear in feeds.
Romanek is also the director of countless high-profile music videos for Johnny Cash, Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, and Michael Jackson.
In addition to its first ad, Dispo has also unveiled a new logo (pictured above) — a starry shape evoking the flash of a disposable camera, set atop a neon green background.
Following an invite-only beta, the first version of Dispo went live yesterday on iOS — and is currently sitting at the No. 4 position in the App Store’s ‘Photo & Video’ charts. You can check out the company’s inaugural ad, which is also charting at No. 2 on YouTube’s trending tab, below:
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