A couple of years ago, parallax websites were all the rage in content marketing. To those who haven’t heard of them, a parallax website lets the reader scroll through animated content, whether it’s a data driven, or a simple portfolio created by a web designer. Perhaps best you see for yourself.

Yet for all the fanfare surrounding them, there has almost inevitably been a backlash. Some commentators believe they are bad for SEO, aren’t fit for mobile or simply tedious.

As argued by editor Richard Cree:

An editor’s ability to correctly pick the most appropriate treatment or format for a story is paramount

You can apply this hoses for courses argument to the parallax, which in three recent examples from 2015 excels when narrative is fused with data.

1. Scaling Everest – Washington Post

This page manages to capture both the enormity and challenge presented by climbing Mount Everest. The authors have intermingled stats and facts with audio testimony from renowned climbers, bringing the content to life.

 2. What will it take to run a 2-hour marathon? – Runner’s World

The expense of creating a parallax page (think of adding the costs for research, scripting, illustration and build) means that you must choose your topic wisely. In answering the two-hour marathon question, Runner’s World has chosen a topic that will stay relevant for an extended period and continue to pull in readers from all quarters.

3. Promise Kept – The White House

The story of how US president Barack Obama ‘brought home the troops’ from Iraq could have been a dry, missable write-up on the White House’s website. Yet in presenting some keynote speeches (admittedly too long in some cases) among beautiful photography and precise narrative, the story comes alive and – dare we suggest it – minor piece of political theatre.