"My favorite Instagram page over the past few months has been 123rollenbaan.nl, which appears to be the marketing account of a Dutch conveyor belt company. Each of their videos demonstrates a different type of machine. A box travels across the conveyor belt and falls off the side, as European electronic music plays in the background. It's simple and beautiful, and it's clearly resonating with other people as well-as I write this, the account is about to pass 100,000 followers."
"I think part of the appeal is that the account is upfront about what it is. The 123rollenbaan website is clearly advertised at the bottom of each video, and the captions get to the point: "beltconveyor for sale." "beltconveyor in action." What you see is what you get, which is so rarely the case nowadays."
"I also think it's important that the account is foreign. It's uncomfortable to be an American right now, and the Dutch hashtags feel like a refuge from everything that's happening back home. Same with the unsophisticated editing style and the 2010s Avicii remixes, which elicit a nostalgic yearning for a simpler time. Perhaps this is the European equivalent to the " you met me at a very Chinese time in my life " memes. Both reject American norms in favor of a different cultural tradition."
123rollenbaan.nl posts short videos of different conveyor machines, each showing a box traveling across a belt and falling off the side set to European electronic music. The visuals are simple and aesthetically pleasing, and the account has nearly 100,000 followers. The website is advertised on each video, captions plainly read 'beltconveyor for sale' or 'beltconveyor in action,' and the profile link sells conveyor belts. The account's foreign Dutch presence and unsophisticated editing create a nostalgic, refuge-like feeling. The appeal arises from transparency, minimalist beauty, and the absurdity that Instagram's algorithm recommended industrial advertisements to an unintended viewer.
Read at Substack
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