ARTE released a new Instagram comic that follows a couple which spends the summer apart

The Instagram comic “Été” by ARTE and Bigger Than Fiction followed the adventures of a young couple that spends one last summer apart before getting engaged.

#Eté : un feuilleton #BD sur le compte Instagram d'@ARTEfr @ete_arte dès le 29.06 @BggrThnFctn🔸Le DDP https://t.co/rvsYWdzjYM pic.twitter.com/KKWWdhh4Af

— ARTE pro (@ARTEpro) June 14, 2017

In coproduction with creative agency Bigger Than Fiction, ARTE France created the Instagram comic “Été” (Summer) which follows a French couple that decides to spend one last summer apart in order to pursue their individual dreams before truly committing to each other. The first episode was released on June 27, 2017 via the official @ete_arte Instagram account. New episodes are added daily to @ete_arte’s Instagram Story and as individual posts throughout the summer.

ARTE provided an official trailer as well as the background story on the dedicated Instagram account prior to the official release of the first episode. While the trailer introduces the main characters Abel and Olivia, the background story consist of several illustrations that show the couple discussing their bucket lists for this last summer apart. They also agree on having no contact during the course of these two months apart.

Each episode consists of several illustrated stills that are accompanied by short tunes and matching background noises. In the first episode, titled Mon Coeur (My Heart), Abel and Olivia sit in a café while discussing the reasons for spending the summer apart and how this will bring them closer together.

Ne préjuge jamais de la fin à partir du début. #souslesoleil #ausoleil #bucketlist #couple #morningroutine #reveil #matin #gueuledebois #Paris #ete @lesinrocks

A post shared by La série bd (@ete_arte) on Jun 28, 2017 at 3:24am PDT

The second episode Nous Deux (The Two of Us) marks the beginning of their temporary separation and shows their very different morning routines. While Abel, for example, gets up early in the morning and runs errands, Olivia sleeps in and has trouble getting out of bed. The realistic narrative in combination with the daily release of episodes drives engagement among fans and invites them to return to Instagram and join Abel and Olivia’s adventurous journey throughout summer.

Nicole Greiner is a research analyst at VAST MEDIA, a media research and consulting company based in Berlin that provides international television industry leaders with qualitative competitive market analysis of digital entertainment and content marketing. These posts are based on their platform VAST BUZZ which contains thousands of these cases studies.