Brands are collaborating with creators to make mockumentaries – and audiences are entertained. Batt Maillie is a creator and filmmaker whose short films generate millions of views. This week he dropped I Hate Mark, a mockumentary in the style of The Office for the fashion brand Ronning. It reached 100K views in less than 24 hours.
@corq.studio Mockumenteries are a trending campaign format, led by creators for brands such as @Argos UK. @batt.maillie and @Ronning team up for the entertaining campaign I Hate Mark, while @Christopher Hall, @Paul Olima and @Abi Clarke starred in Argos’ Arghaüs #mockumentary #marketing #marketinginsights #brandcampaigns #influencermarketing
This follows brands such as Argos whose Arghaüs mockumentary mini series starring creators such as Abi Clarke, Paul Olima and Christopher Hall, drew 8 million impressions with a 90% positive sentiment last year. In early 2026, Canva hired Gemma Collins as its creative director and produced a BTS mini mockumentary. In April e.l.f. Cosmetics produced a glossy crime-mockumentary, Vanity Vandals, starring Phoebe Dynevor, which has 21M views.
This format is in style – Charli XCX made an entire mockumentary film The Moment about her Brat experience – and also the juncture of two wider trends: interest in seeing work culture reflected in social media content, as well as brands operating as entertainment platforms. The narrative of I Hate Mark is built around the Ronning bag, without ever mentioning the brand. Creators such as Batt Maillie understand that good brand storytelling sells the scene, not the product.
CORQ’s insights director Emilie McMeekan breaks down the campaigns using this tactic
e.l.f. Beauty’s makeup mockumentary perfectly taps into Gen Z’s love of true crime and playing amateur detective