Netflix and Adobe had a desire to work together. Their brief to us was both broad and upstream: to simply get Gen Z interested in their newly-formed brand partnership using non-traditional, purpose-driven methods. The core objective was to simply demonstrate that both brands share a core brand belief of democratizing creativity for all.

‘The Great Untold’ is a film competition meets a cross-country road trip. To find undiscovered creators with stories to tell, we reinvented the film industry’s submission process; opening it up to Gen Z to submit their ideas directly to Netflix as mock movie trailers, via Tik Tok. This transformed an exclusionary industry process, into something of true scale; using the smartphone every creator already has in their pocket. After selecting winning entries, we set out into the great unknown, bringing Hollywood to far-flung corners of the USA, bringing with us Netflix mentors, and Adobe tools and crew. The entire creative journey was captured behind-the-scenes by star documentarian Nadia Hallgren as an original Netflix series, and made available online for the wider creative audience to watch for free. Plans for Season 2 are already in the works, USA and other markets.

Gen Z is averse to brands making claims through traditional marketing, without putting words into action. So to tangibly demonstrate Netflix and Adobe’s shared purpose of ‘democratizing creativity’, we self-reflected on the negative impact of the creative industry’s exclusivity. The film industry’s outdated submission process required solicitation by an agent, fully-written manuscripts, and in-person meetings; preventing young creators from gaining entry into the industry because of distance, wealth, and logistics. Research showed that many Gen Z creators were choosing not to bother navigating institutional requirements, and rather express themselves creatively elsewhere, in more openly accessible places, like social media. So we let them submit their story ideas directly to Netflix as mock movie trailers, via Tik Tok. To then amplify the creative presence of the winners, and to inspire a new wave of creators to see their own potential, we captured the entire creative journey as a behind-the-scenes documentary.

The project took multiple phases, over 12 months, based entirely within the USA. Firstly, an integrated call-for-entries campaign used ‘Adobe Magic’ visuals in films, digital placements and make-believe movie posters to intrigue creators everywhere. Guerilla and OOH in small towns across America then sparked potential movie ideas in contextual placements. Then, the campaign asked Gen Z “What’s a story only you can tell?”. Next, the film industry’s outdated submission process was reinvented to instead take place on Tik Tok; where creators could submit their ideas in the form of movie trailers. A competition judging panel selected three diverse winners. Then we travelled to each of their hometowns, bringing with us Netflix mentors, Adobe tools and film crews to help fully-produced each creator’s film. The entire creative process was captured behind the scenes and edited into an original Netflix series; made openly-accessible online for the wider audience to watch for free.

11.6 million click-throughs for the call-for-entries campaign

16,000 unique creator submissions via Tik Tok

Over 5.5 million total likes for creator’s Tik Tok submissions

Over 600 million views views for the #thegreatuntold campaign hashtag on Tik Tok.

The three final winners had their careers changed forever and their presence amplified; the behind-the-scenes series, and their short films, totalling tens of millions of impressions across social media.

Comments on social posts throughout every phase of the project showed the wider audience being inspired to pursue their own storytelling ambitions.

The newly-formed brand partnership demonstrated to its desired audience their shared brand belief of ‘democratizing creativity’ in a tangible way. And proved that, despite being industry giants, the two brands have no lost connection to grassroots creators.