Adobe is pushing further into entertainment-led marketing with The Marketers, its first-ever original episodic comedy series created to live natively on YouTube. Built around the everyday realities of modern work, the five-part series signals a clear shift from campaign-based communication toward format-driven storytelling designed to sustain attention over time.
Starring Hasan Minhaj and Patty Guggenheim, and featuring appearances from Iliza Shlesinger, Tony Cavalero, Mario Lopez, and Colin and Samir, the series follows two overconfident marketers trying to outdo their previous success while navigating an exaggerated version of agency life. Each episode runs between five and seven minutes, with new installments released weekly through April 16.
The project evolved from Adobe’s earlier Acrobat Jingle parody campaign, expanding a one-off creative idea into a structured narrative format. What started as a satirical take has now been developed into a scripted workplace comedy with recurring characters, ongoing storylines and a clear ambition to grow into a longer-term content franchise.
The strategy behind the series reflects a broader shift in how brands approach relevance. Instead of building campaigns around product features, Adobe is building an “Acrobat Cinematic Universe” where entertainment becomes the entry point and product utility is embedded within the narrative. Acrobat’s AI-powered tools appear organically throughout the episodes as part of the characters’ workflow, from generating presentations to shaping campaign ideas, avoiding the feel of traditional product placement.
Creatively, the series leans into industry self-awareness. Written in collaboration with comedy talent from Saturday Night Live, it builds on familiar marketing archetypes and exaggerates them into characters that reflect the pressures, language and rituals of contemporary work culture. Hasan Minhaj’s character, for example, presents a satirical framework for success through his “4 D’s” thought leadership platform, while Guggenheim’s role plays on the tension between cultural relevance and performance.
With The Marketers, Adobe is testing whether branded content can function as a repeatable entertainment format rather than a one-off campaign. The ambition is not just visibility but continuity, creating a system where characters, narratives and inside jokes can evolve across seasons, live activations and brand experiences.
