The Human Story Behind Ottobock's Inspiring Docu Series
When Ottobock first approached We Make Them Wonder with a vision to tell real, impactful stories, it was clear that this collaboration would be more than a marketing campaign.
Ottobock’s chief experience officer, Martin Böhm, famously said, “We don’t invent stories, we find them,” and this philosophy became the foundation for a unique, deeply personal documentary series. Spanning nearly two years, the series follows Marian’s recovery after a life-changing accident, capturing not only his resilience but the challenges faced by his family and community.
With a commitment to authentic storytelling, free from voice overs or brand ambassadors, We Make Them Wonder crafted a documentary that is both intimate and universally inspiring.
LBB’s Olivia Atkins sat down with Maximilian Valentin, head of creative department We Make Them Wonder, to discuss how storytelling can elevate human experiences in a brand’s universe, driving both emotional and narrative impact.
LBB> What was the initial brief from the agency, and how did it shape your creative direction for the series?
Maximilian> In 2022, Ottobock rolled out its first UGC campaign #25YearsOfCLeg at the OMR festival in Hamburg (biggest marketing festival in Germany) and the We Make Them Wonder team were there and saw the presentation.
We firmly believe that an important part of contemporary marketing consists of true stories that can be elevated in the universe of a brand. We realised during the presentation that Ottobock is of the same opinion.
And when Martin Böhm, Ottobock's chief experience officer, said, “We don't invent stories, we find them,” we knew that Ottobock was looking for real stories that they wanted to tell in an innovative and human-centred way. And since we knew Marian and his story, we proposed a joint collaboration between him and Ottobock, and we finally realised it.
LBB> Why did you choose to craft the story as a four-part documentary series? What creative and narrative opportunities did this format offer?
Maximilian> The concept, development and production all came from us at We Make Them Wonder, we already have a lot of experience with serial formats and branded documentaries for clients such as FC Bayern Munich, KUEHNE+NAGEL and GIZ, a German development co-operation), so it was a natural evolution to go down this route.
We proposed a serial format rather than a single film for several reasons. We knew that we wanted to accompany Marian for a long time (and it ended up being almost two years) and we realised from the beginning that we wanted to tell a modern hero story, with all the elements: Ups, downs, vulnerability, courage and hope. And a serial format offers the opportunity to tell stories in a more extended and deeper way.
It was important for us to create an authentic and multi-dimensional narrative and not an ‘image film’. The format of the series made perfect sense here, even though it was important to us not to tell the story in a purely linear way.
LBB> How did you discover Marian, and what was the creative process behind getting him to open up and share his story in such an authentic way?
Maximilian> Marian is a friend of ours and that naturally helped a lot in gaining his trust for the project. But we also always communicated very transparently what we wanted to do and ultimately left it up to him how he wanted to tell his story.
It was extremely important to us that we follow him and not vice versa. That doesn't make it any easier to plan a project like this, but it does make the result more truthful. We are very grateful to Marian for trusting us to take a look at what was probably the most challenging journey of his life, and we are also very grateful to Ottobock for trusting Marian and us in this process and giving us a free hand.
LBB> Each film in the series is emotional, humble, and deeply rooted in reality while also being inspirational. What led you to take this creative approach, and how did it shape the tone of the production?
Maximilian> That's down to Marian's personality and our way of telling stories. Many things changed during the two years of production, but the way of telling the story through the protagonist, and making sure not to use a voice over or a brand ambassador, was always the intention. And of course, the narrative largely comes down to Marian's incredibly positive and forward-thinking attitude. Without that, the series would have been very different and perhaps not as inspiring.
LBB> What were the biggest creative and logistical challenges you faced in bringing this series to life?
Maximilian> Creatively, with a documentary project you always have to get involved in the process, even if we have to say that the basics of our planned storyline haven't changed, we had to continually adapt and react along the way. Parts didn't end up in the documentary or we changed the flow, but these are all normal elements of documentary storytelling.
But the biggest logistical challenge was remembering that this project was about a person's recovery after a very serious accident. That means that there were unplanned operations, longer regeneration phases and setbacks that postponed everything and made it difficult to plan.
We’ve also got to credit and emphasise Ottobock’s limitless patience and understanding – they maintained that the most important thing throughout this project was Marian and his recovery, so it was up to him and his body to dictate what we did and when.
LBB> Each episode runs over ten minutes, which is longer than a typical spot. Were you concerned about the length, and how did you approach keeping the audience engaged throughout?
Maximilian> Yes, that's a long time in a TikTok media landscape where seconds count. But we were firmly convinced that we needed the time and designed each episode in such a way that it has its own dramaturgy and cliffhangers for the next episode at the end. It's actually the normal Netflix principle. Although we also have to say that we originally had five episodes, but then went down to four for dramaturgical and editing reasons in order to keep the pace.
LBB> How did the brand respond to your creative decisions, particularly the length and emotional depth of the series? Did they need much convincing, or were they fully supportive from the start?
Maximilian> Ottobock has been an incredibly great partner. At Ottobock, ‘people first’ is not just a phrase but a real conviction, which is why they went along with almost every decision that made the narrative more credible and approachable. It was incredibly important to Ottobock to tell the story holistically and also to show the role of the environment – the family and friends – and the challenges everyone faces.
In sport in particular, we often see people who have gone their own way and are now celebrating success for example as para-athletes, for instance. But we don't often see the story up to that point, nor do we often see people who return to ‘normal’ professions after an accident. That's why it was so important for Ottobock to show the whole path to a new life.
