Why Brands Are Creating Their Own TV Shows

Vera Bradley’s latest ad doesn’t look like an ad at all.

Titled “Most Perfect Couple,” the ad is actually something of a branded short film. Harkening back to the brand’s days as a Y2K accessory phenomenon, the aughts rom-com-inspired video follows comedy writer Kristen Mulrooney as she brings to life a fan fiction story she wrote about actor Devon Sawa, who also stars in the spot, during her teenage years. The hope is that by tapping into 2000s nostalgia, the brand’s target audience — its original fan base who are now in their 30s and 40s — will be able to revisit those same youthful feelings, too.

“We felt like the time was right to reconnect people emotionally with [getting] their first Vera Bradley bag, and there was just this world of expression and possibility and joy,” said Alison Hiatt, chief marketing officer of Vera Bradley. A short film was the right vehicle for the message, she added, because “when you’re impacting people’s day in a positive way, that’s the bigger push versus the selling of an actual product.”

Rather than paying content creators to make content for them, both brands and media companies are increasingly finding ways to do so themselves. Decades-old beauty brand Mary Kay, jewellery brand Alexis Bittar, fashion publication InStyle and celebrity tome People have all produced narrative series for social media in hopes of connecting with Gen-Z consumers, anticipating that if they can entertain them, they can sell them product (or in InStyle’s case, subscriptions).

In some ways, doing so is about adapting to the medium: It’s videos that make people laugh or teach them something new that get attention on TikTok, not product-focused sales pitches. It is also a way for brands to show a more in-depth side of their personality. But to tap this tactic effectively, they need to get more comfortable taking risks.

“The rules have changed,” said Leah Wyar, president of entertainment, beauty and style at People Inc., InStyle’s parent company. “You have to push the needle a bit.”

At the same time, brands also need to consider what sort of content will resonate with their customer. Affordable beauty brand E.l.f.’s controversial campaign starring comedian Matt Rife, for example, received plenty of attention — but fell flat with its core audience of young women.

Reaching Gen-Z

For legacy brands looking to either re-introduce themselves to their original fans, or engage younger shoppers for the first time, creating entertaining content allows them to shake off stodgy associations to feel fresh and exciting again.

InStyle’s social media series “The Intern,” for instance, has been a way for the publication to gain new relevance with Gen-Z, tapping influencer duo Grant Gibbs and Ashley Gill to play interns alongside the publication’s real editor in chief Sally Holmes and Kim Giummo, People Inc.’s associate director of human resources. As editors become social media personalities in their own right, being able to put “the faces behind our brand,” as Wyar said, front and centre, is a way of creating a deeper and more human relationship between viewers and the publication.

For media brands, it’s also a way to engage advertisers. Watch and leather goods brand Fossil signed on as a sponsor for the fourth season of “The Intern”; the show’s stars wear its products during the episodes and playfully allude to their sponsor in conversation. For Fossil, sponsoring the series offers the same opportunity it does for InStyle in engaging a younger consumer.

“[Consumers] are using social for entertainment,” said Melissa Lowenkron, chief brand officer for Fossil. “They’re not looking for an ad or a sales pitch.”

For cosmetics label Mary Kay, their newly launched comedy series called “Miss Conceptions” is a way for the brand to fight against accusations that it’s a “pyramid scheme” or “for grandmothers,” instead using self-aware humour as a moment to highlight the brand’s priorities today.

While some may consider it a risk to acknowledge these negative connotations outright, Candie Rodriguez, vice president of marketing and sales support for Mary Kay, said it’s more effective to tackle head on than pretending they don’t exist.

“We know that there’s some negative perceptions about our brand, and we just want to own it,” said Rodriguez. “And we think we can own it in a way that is engaging and fun.”

It’s also a way to introduce the brand to younger shoppers; in conjunction with the series’ premiere, Mary Kay is enlisting a second round of college ambassadors, harnessing presence on social media to share Mary Kay on their platforms.

Breaking the Fourth Wall

These narrative series have also been an opportunity for brands and publishers to give shoppers and readers an inside look at their operations.

People, for instance, launched a series called “The Fourth Wall,” to coincide with the launch of the People mobile app in April. The series gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the magazine’s newsroom; Wyar said that level of transparency represents a “massive shift.”

“It’s a 50-year-old brand, nobody ever would dream of putting a camera in the newsroom, or dream of TMZ-styling a meeting,” said Wyar.

Plus, as consumers have become more knowledgeable — and curious — than ever before about the behind-the-scenes happenings of their favourite brands, with companies like Danish fashion brand Ganni even posting videos of their employees’ days at the office, series that communicate plainly with their audience are more likely to cut through to sceptical Gen-Zs.

InStyle chose to take that blunt approach for its Fossil partnership, openly mentioning and joking about the sponsorship in the videos: When the brand name comes up in conversation, a dollar sign also pops up alongside the words “Hi Daddy Fossil.” Similarly, when beauty brand Lancôme released a series of videos fronted by Y2K stars for its nostalgic Juicy Tubes lip glosses, in its spot featuring Ed Westwick as his “Gossip Girl” character Chuck Bass, he openly stated that the video is, indeed, an ad. Viewers not only didn’t care, they loved it: It went on to become the brand’s most highly engaged video ever.

Companies may be initially uncomfortable poking fun at themselves or being quite so open — but it just might be what’s needed to connect with the new generation.

“People remember fun more than they remember a subtle hint at something,” said Wyar.