The Video Isn’t Enough: When Brands Don’t Understand the New Language

A few days ago, I finished watching Adolescence, the series directed by Philip Barantini. It wasn’t just another show. It left me with a tightness in my chest and more questions than answers. Naturally, I took those questions into the world of branding—because that’s what I do with stories that move me.

There’s a particular scene that’s been echoing in my head ever since: the detectives finally get the video that shows the murder. The proof they needed is there. Clear as day. And yet, they can’t move forward. They stall. Not because of a lack of evidence, but because they can’t interpret it. They see what’s happening, but they don’t understand what it means. They’re missing context. They’re missing language. They’re disconnected from the world they’re trying to make sense of.

And I realized—this happens to brands all the time.

Many brands today already have what they need. Great products. Strong values. A good story. But they still fail to connect. Not because they’re doing something wrong, but because they’re speaking a language that no one speaks anymore. They believe that having “the truth”—their message, their vision, their content—is enough to be heard.

But it’s not.

Because when a brand learns to listen, it finally starts to speak.

The world has changed. So have conversations. Today, it’s not enough to speak. You have to understand. You have to listen. You have to interpret.

In the series, the detectives are stuck not because they lack intelligence, but because they can’t decode the culture in front of them. They don’t understand the world of those kids. In the same way, many brands remain stuck in a previous era—talking, shouting, even broadcasting messages—but failing to connect with the emotional realities of the people they’re trying to reach.

People today don’t want more ads. They want experiences. They don’t want to be sold something—they want to believe in something. They don’t follow brands; they join movements. And if your brand isn’t attuned to that shift, it becomes irrelevant—even with all the evidence in the world.

Watching Adolescence reminded me that the real challenge isn’t about lacking answers. It’s about failing to ask the right questions.

Brands don’t need more strategies. They need more soul. They need to stop speaking like corporations and start showing up like humans. To live in this imperfect, chaotic, emotional present. To be real. And from that honesty, to build meaningful relationships.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about having the perfect message.

It’s about being brave enough to say:
What do people truly need right now?
And how can we serve that need from who we genuinely are?