Stop Selling, Start Storytelling

In a time when fleeting attention spans dominate the scene, production companies and advertising agencies face an unexpected paradox. While audiences seem to skim, skip, and scroll through commercials at lightning speed, the same audiences also yearn for longer, deeper, and more meaningful narratives that demand more time and focus. The yearning for a good story has introduced a new style of advertising, where storytelling trumps selling, and real connections replace hard pitches: the documentary-style commercial. 

Unlike the traditional 30-second ads, documentary-style films are more informative and engaging, though longer, ranging from one to several minutes. They’re all about authenticity. Real people telling real stories, often centred around a societal concern or resonating with a human need, value or desire. Because of their relatability, these commercials can captivate viewers' attention and invite them to engage deeply with their content. For brands that want to connect meaningfully with audiences while subtly aligning them with brand values, documentary-style films resonate much more effectively. 

Why? Because people connect with stories. Unlike ads with dry facts and figures, or forced style over substance, stories make us feel something. They create empathy, leave a lasting impression, and tap into one of the oldest ways we've communicated as humans. Stories stick in a way that stats never will. Stories feel personal, emotional, and, most importantly, honest.

This isn't just a random trend - it's a fundamental shift embraced by brands. 

Consider Drive to Survive, for example, Netflix's docuseries that transformed Formula 1 from a niche sport into a global phenomenon. By 2022, US viewership nearly doubled, and female interest increased fivefold. The show humanised the sport, its teams, and its athletes, resulting in increased followship. 

Similarly, Patagonia has set a new standard with its documentary The Shitthropocene, a satirical critique of overconsumption and greenwashing. Instead of pushing a hard sell, the film reinforced Patagonia's environmental ethos, cementing its reputation as a purpose-driven brand. 

This shift toward storytelling is more than just the result of creative goodwill. It's a strategic response to changing consumer attitudes and media consumption habits. Today's consumers, especially younger generations, expect authenticity. They want to know more than what a brand sells and what it stands for. That's where documentary-style ads come in, giving people a behind-the-scenes look at a brand's values and showing how they align with their beliefs and aspirations. 

A name becomes a brand when it develops a personality and becomes human. Until then it is just a product. This is why documentary-style brand films resonate more. This doesn’t mean  30 or 60 second commercials are obsolete, it means that the entertainment bar has been raised much higher and those 30 or 60 second ads need to be very clever and creative to engage at all. 

The bottom line is this: audiences are sick of being sold to. Documentary-style advertising proves that the best way to sell isn't to sell at all - it's to tell stories that matter. The rise of ad-free streaming platforms and the overwhelming popularity of long-form content - from two-hour podcasts to feature-length brand documentaries - proves that while our attention spans may have shrunk for mundane content, they've expanded for narratives that matter. 

Brands that master this balance by creating authentic, relevant, and resonant content will thrive in the marketplace and shape its future. The lesson is clear: The right story doesn't just capture attention. It holds, nurtures, and turns it into something enduring: loyalty.