Sign Up | Advertise | Sales System

In partnership with

👋 Good Morning. One brand spent six figures on a comedy series, then deliberately hid their logo from every single episode. Viewers watched anyway—and started selling the product for them. Here's how:

Read time: 2 minutes | 483 words

STORY 

Brands Are Becoming TV Producers

The era of branded entertainment has arrived—and it's happening on your phone.

Why now? Audiences are ad-averse and scroll past traditional ads faster than ever. So brands are creating actual shows:

• Bilt's "Roomies" → A Friends-inspired sitcom about NYC renters (130K+ followers)

• Bratz's "Alwayz Bratz" → Weekly TikTok series (just wrapped Season 2)

• Oatly's "Café con el Abuelo" → Grandpa tries fancy coffee for the first time

@roomiesroomiesroomies

Ep 21: Season 1 Finale, Part I

The strategy? Stay largely unbranded. Bilt only mentions itself in the bio. Oatly appears as a "supporting character." The goal isn't direct selling—it's building brand affinity with viewers who actively avoid ads.

The results speak volumes:

• Pretzelized invested $125K in a comedy series

• Gained 17K followers and 22M impressions

• Now planning Season 2

As one exec put it: "If you can crack that nut and create content people want to see, they'll build a much stronger brand affinity."

The takeaway? In 2025, the best advertising doesn't look like advertising at all. It looks like entertainment you'd actually choose to watch.

TOGETHER WITH ROKU

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

INSIGHT

Stop Advertising, Start Entertaining

The best brand content in 2025 doesn't mention the brand. This counterintuitive lesson comes from brands cracking the code on ad-averse audiences:

• Bilt's "Roomies" only mentions the brand in the bio. Result? 130K+ followers and viewers educating each other about the platform in comments. Organic brand ambassadors beat forced messaging.

• Pretzelized invested $125K in a sketch comedy series. The payoff: 17K new followers, 22M impressions, and enough momentum for Season 2. Not a single hard sell in sight.

• The scroll test is brutal: "If I see ads, I scroll as fast as I possibly can," says Bilt's CMO. But entertainment content? People "will go out of their way to watch" and build "much stronger brand affinity."

• Oatly's grandfather coffee series makes the brand a "supporting character." The spotlight stays on coffee shops and authentic reactions. Brand reverence through association, not promotion.

In other words: Your audience isn't rejecting you—they're rejecting being sold to. Give them something they'd watch even without your logo attached. When viewers voluntarily mention your brand in comments, you've won the attention game traditional ads can't touch.

ACTION

📊 Put This Into Action

Option 1: Sponsor an existing creator's series. Find a comedy creator in your niche. Offer $5K to be a "set piece" in their show (like how coffee shops appear in Oatly's series).

Option 2: Film your most entertaining employee. Everyone has a "Luis the Grandfather." Find them, hand them a camera, document something real.

Option 3: Turn customer stories into episodes. Interview your best customers. Edit into 60-second character-driven vignettes. No product talk—just their world.

MEME