IQ Exclusive

Untold Stories 

We’re increasingly seeing brands use their platforms to shed light on lesser known stories and alternative versions of history. We look at the best examples of this inclusive trend and explain how marketers should approach it to appear authentic rather than opportunistic

16 Nov 2022
Body image for Untold Stories

Definition 

By surfacing lesser-known narratives or reckoning with the past, brands can bring awareness and recognition to people, causes and events, while taking a new position on something familiar.

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool, we use it to understand each other and the world. So by telling untold stories we deepen our understanding of our origins, cultures and societies. 

Sometimes untold stories refer to alternative versions of history, where the experiences of marginalised groups have been silenced by the ‘official’, colonial version of events. Hearing these stories helps us recognise contributions to society and culture that have gone unacknowledged or miscredited. In other cases, untold stories bring to light people and things that exist outside the public realm.

This trend is part of a wider trend around inclusivity: replacing narrow, monolithic narratives with more inclusive stories allows for diversity of thought and better representation.

Body image for Untold Stories

Landscape 

As we explored in our Unvarnished Truths trend in 2021, brands have begun presenting more realistic, less idealised portrayals of human experiences in their advertising over the past few years. An increased appetite for transparency has paved the way for a wave of anti-airbrushing, cut-the-shit, warts-and-all advertising – and the Untold Stories trend is an evolution of that. As well as taking steps to make their advertising more realistic or faithful to people’s real experiences, we’re seeing brands use their platforms and marketing budgets to surface underrepresented narratives that show familiar issues or history in a new light.

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