Social media didn’t kill the video star. It just made it grow up.

Everyone has a favourite TV ad. Maybe it has a jingle, a distinctive character, or a great insight. Maybe it’s one that you found yourself repeating over and over, stuck in your head like a barnacle at the back of your brain (looking at you, Reading Writing Hotline). In the world of advertising and production, TV ads have been romanticised as a masthead of creativity, the sharp end of a brand’s messaging. But in practical terms, the world is changing. Getting airtime alongside Better Homes and Gardens doesn’t have the same shine anymore – nor is it as useful. The TV ad now sits alongside a whole range of different content opportunities, a lever waiting to be pulled, a prizefighter relegated to the undercard.

The sacred 30 second TV ad used to be a catch-all for a range audiences – because TV was a catch-all medium. But in 2025, audience touchpoints have grown so varied that any brand that fails to cater to these new avenues is quickly being left behind. Most brands are still trying to access the audiences that lie untapped behind the vertical window of a phone screen – audiences that are far more engaged than ever before.

This isn’t groundbreaking – the writing has been on the wall for more than a decade now. However, the infrastructure to create the breadth and quality of content to feed the mouths of the many platforms that demand it, is very much in its infancy. While a reel or corporate video doesn’t require a 40-person crew and a dedicated team of caterers, there is still the same amount of expertise required to create content that actually works for its medium and its audience. 

Sure, you could resize the shiny new campaign to squeeze into an Instagram story – but would you serve Lobster Thermidor to a toddler who only eats Mac & Cheese? Or do you create something bespoke and inherently more engaging that actually serves the platform (and the toddler)? It’s a challenge that all brands face - but importantly, it’s one that production companies must solve.

Successful production companies aren’t in the business of creating your favourite TV ad anymore. Instead, they’re tasked with creating your favourite campaign – one that is made up of a whole web of vertical videos, short-form outputs, and click-worthy deliverables. Brands are changing gears to pivot to this multi-asset approach. The question is, are content producers ready to meet them halfway?