Media Brief

For decades, the brands were the master storytellers. They did not sell products but told narratives that lasted for years, sometimes even generations. From Fevicol, Harpic, Cadbury to Parle-G, brands crafted stories that were consistent, designed, and repeated over time to communicate a brand purpose that would last for years.

Fevicol celebrated unbreakable bonds. Cadbury was all about celebration and joy. Harpic communicated messages of hygiene. These narratives were linear and focused on the long term, utilizing mainly television and print media to deliver their messages to the public.

However, storytelling has not disappeared but has changed over time.

The shift from storytelling to real time, culture-driven storytelling is happening before our very eyes. The digital age, with brands like Instagram and TikTok dominating today’s social media, has changed the nature of storytelling and the storytellers behind these stories. In essence, it is culture that creates the story and brands that exist within this culture that contribute to it.

An example of brands contributing to cultural storytelling is the rise of the Nihilist Penguin meme.

The Nihilist Penguin originated from a clip of a documentary highlighting a lone penguin walking away from its group of penguin friends. Today, this meme has become viral across social media platforms. Rapido, a mobility platform, shared an advertisement imagining themselves picking up this penguin.

Even Delhi Police used the meme to promote road safety. Other companies like Red Bull and MINI even used the meme to promote their products and brands. Other brands used social media platforms to discuss the Nihilist Penguin using hashtags like #BeLikeThePenguin to promote their products.

Here, the story did not come from a brand but from the culture surrounding these products. The brands went into this culture and created change for the industry as a whole.

Another great example of a brand successfully inserting themselves into a viral story is the story of “Punch,” the baby macaque who developed a special bond with a plush toy.

This viral video captured the attention of the world due to its emotional content. However, the brands that responded to this also created viral content themselves. For example, IKEA, the brand behind the plush toy that Punch could not leave alone, put out a message that they are donating more plush toys for the macaque zoo. Other brands also made viral videos and content that focused on the relationship between the monkey and the toy.

These brands did not force their products into this viral video but instead, they were a part of it naturally. Additionally, the consumers of these brands began to change their behavior towards the companies due to this viral video.

Finally, another great example of brands inserting themselves into viral content is the KitKat heist.

When over 12 tonnes of KitKat bars were stolen during transit throughout Europe, KitKat’s mother company, Nestlé, created humorous content to describe the situation. Then, over 20 other brands, from fast food chains to tech companies, made their own humorous “official statements” to describe their dismay at the situation.

This moment was not owned by any single brand. Instead, it became a shared narrative space, where multiple brands co-created content in real time. Storytelling, in this context, became decentralized, participatory, and collective.

These examples point to a deeper transformation in how brand purpose is communicated.

Unlike the past when brands had a specific purpose for which they would stand and adapt, today their purpose is contextual and related to the culture in which they find themselves. For instance, while KitKat may still stand for taking a break, it also does so through humor, memes, and current trends in the cultural world around them.

Today’s consumers want things to be immediate and relatable. They do not want the big production efforts to try and convey a message to them, but rather content that is directly connected to the culture in which they exist and the stories that surround those consumers.

Furthermore, using digital platforms to communicate with their consumers rewards brands for communicating with content that is connected to the trends and conversations that are happening in the world at this very moment. Thus, brands are incentivized to become more responsive and adaptive to the world around them.

However, there are some challenges in this new trend in the branding world:

• There are numerous brands attempting to use the same trend, leading to potential difficulties in differentiation between brands.

• Some brands may create content and stories that are connected to these trends, but which do not correlate to the brand’s own purpose.

• Additionally, viral content is often ephemeral and may not be remembered by consumers after a period of time.

It would be misleading to suggest that traditional brands and their stories are without purpose or relevance in today’s world. Rather, the most successful brands have found a way to incorporate elements of both the traditional brand story and the need for real-time, cultural brand stories.

Thus, brands used to tell their own stories and promote their products to their consumers have changed into brands that participate in the stories that are shared between those brands and their consumers.

Though the essence of storytelling remains the same, the form that those stories take has changed. Where once brands would share their stories in more static forms, they are now fluid and evolving to adapt to the ever-changing world in which they exist.

From decades-long campaigns to momentary viral bursts, brand storytelling has not lost its relevance. It has simply adapted to a world where culture moves faster than ever—and where the most powerful stories are no longer told by brands alone, but co-created with the audience in real time.