December 2025
Written by
Abbie Mason
E-commerce
Marketing strategy
Product launch
Tech
The Horizontal Instagram Video Trend Explained
Instagram did not begin as a vertical-first video platform.
It started with square content, expanded to landscape and portrait formats, and only later transitioned into vertical dominance with the rise of Stories and Reels.
This evolution is clearly outlined by Zoho, which confirms that vertical priority is a relatively recent platform behaviour rather than an original design principle.
It is within this now vertical-first ecosystem that the ultra-wide horizontal video trend emerged. Often referred to as the “thinnest reel”, this format appeared as a narrow cinematic strip in the feed, designed to interrupt scroll behaviour and challenge audience expectation.
From late 2024 through 2025, creators and brands began experimenting more visibly with this style. The key question was never technical, but strategic. Was this a genuine behavioural evolution or simply visual novelty? From a Lala Comms perspective, it clearly sits in the latter category – a creative interruption rather than a structural shift.
Why did the horizontal Instagram video trend appear?
This was not an Instagram-led innovation. It was creator-driven experimentation. As reported by Inrō, Instagram did not introduce or prioritise a new horizontal format for Reels, but creators popularised the ultra-wide aesthetic organically as a way to stand out.
Marketing commentary from ContentGrip describes the format as a “scroll-breaker”, noting that its effectiveness stems from visual disruption rather than algorithmic preference.
This view is echoed by Your Social Team, which highlights that the appeal of ultra-wide reels lies in their cinematic appearance and their ability to interrupt a predictable vertical feed.
In essence, this trend was not a platform pivot. It was a response to visual saturation.
How was the format actually being used?
Rather than becoming a new standard, the horizontal format appeared primarily in moments of visual emphasis such as:
Cinematic venue walkthroughs
Fashion and lifestyle campaign visuals
Travel and spatial storytelling
Experimental brand moments
One-off hero content
According to Blowhorn, brands adopted the format for visual impact and scroll interruption rather than embedding it into long-term content strategy. It was used to punctuate, not replace.
Did it actually perform better?
Early insight pointed towards short-term engagement benefits, but largely driven by novelty.
Your Social Team reported that wide-format reels were seeing stronger engagement during the height of the trend, largely because they forced users to pause and reassess what they were seeing.
Similarly, ContentGrip noted that the format’s effectiveness lay in its ability to interrupt habitual scrolling patterns and spark curiosity-led engagement.
Meanwhile, Zoho observed that ultra-wide videos were perceived as “cinematic, bold, and modern”, encouraging longer viewing times when tied to clear creative intent.
Notably, however, no source presents consistent long-term data proving the format sustained performance superiority over standard vertical video. What we see instead is a familiar pattern: engagement driven by difference, not durability.
Is the horizontal format sticking around?
Current signals suggest this was a creative moment rather than a permanent pivot.
Instagram has not updated its official format guidance to support ultra-wide video, as outlined by Inrō, and vertical content remains the dominant recommended structure for reach and discoverability according to Zoho.
Industry commentary continues to frame the trend as experimental, with ContentGrip positioning it as a creative device rather than a structural evolution.
As adoption increased, its disruptive power softened. What once stood out gradually blended into familiarity.
Was this merely a creative moment?
The horizontal Instagram video trend functioned as a creative flex. It allowed brands to momentarily signal polish, disruption and visual intentionality. But it never crossed the threshold into genuine behavioural change.
It did not redefine algorithms.
It did not replace vertical video.
It did not reshape platform strategy.
It simply demonstrated how disruption briefly commands attention.
What this means for brands now
For experience-led sectors such as hospitality, nightlife, fashion and lifestyle, the format still holds selective creative value when used with clarity and intent.
Its most effective application remains:
High-impact storytelling moments
Premium campaign drops
Brand reveal visuals
Temporary content differentiation
Vertical content continues to act as the backbone of Instagram performance. Ultra-wide remains a stylistic layer, not a strategic foundation.
Final perspective
The horizontal Instagram video trend was not a failure, but it was not the future either. It was a visually striking moment that briefly disrupted the feed, generated engagement through contrast and offered brands a new storytelling language. Its impact lived in difference, not permanence. Instagram evolved into a vertical-first platform over time. There is no indication that this trajectory is reversing. Ultra-wide was a moment. Vertical remains the system. Strategy outlives aesthetic.