RJR tasked us with creating a program designed purely for entertainment. The strategy sought to build an irreverent brand that saw itself as an off-centered culture-seeker and a traditional campaign focused on product would not position the brand in a unique place.

Our initial idea was to create a series of docu-style stories completely agnostic of products that would focus on the brand values without brand mentions. This idea quickly evolved from a series into a complete platform that incubated content, and the concept of stories delivered every Wednesday (hump day) began to take shape.

Once the concept took form we immediately staffed an editorial-style content team, developed a social-content management system, and began developing original ideas that would be developed into videos, articles, and snackable content. After operating as an in-house editorial and production team for two years, we created hundreds of stories that captivated audiences weekly without ever mentioning the product. Site visits and duration went through the roof, sparking inspiration through constant creativity. Our stories came from all over the world, and developed collaborations with extraordinary makers of the most obscure kind.