Dive Brief:

• Tommy Hilfiger is debuting a documentary miniseries "#WhatsYourDrive" starring brand ambassador and Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton, a news release announced. New episodes will be released in line with the races on the 2018 Formula One World Championship Race calendar. 
• Each episode focuses on a different aspect of Hamilton's personal and professional life, such as his love for music and fashion, what drives him to succeed and how he encourages younger generations to follow their dreams. The miniseries focuses on themes of personal growth, self-expression, goal setting and seizing opportunities. 
• Hamilton will share each episode, along with trailer for the show, on his social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, where he has more than 18 million fans, collectively. The documentary will also be available on a dedicated Tommy Hilfiger webpage promoting the ambassadorship and the four-time Formula One World Champion's Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

Dive Insight:

Tommy Hilfiger is embracing the documentary format to craft the type of longer-form, narrative-driven content marketing that's proving to resonate with consumers. Brand ambassadorships with celebrities and star athletes are popular but risk coming off as inauthentic, especially to more discerning younger viewers. Consumers find mid-level influencers to be more engaging and trustworthy than celebrities, per a recent study by Fullscreen and Shareablee. More than three-quarters of millennials also report disliking or being indifferent to celebrity endorsements, according to research from Roth Capital Partners. 

By taking a close-up of Hamilton and examining his day-to-day life and motivations, Tommy Hilfiger might be able to break that barrier and better communicate authenticity while still tapping into the driver's considerable social media following. The fashion house first partnered with Hamilton in March on a video with supermodel Gigi Hadid where she drove him around in a racecar and vice versa. It looked to replicate the type of YouTube content that frequently goes viral, including a similar video Hamilton previously made with the late-night host James Corden for Puma. 

Viewership of brand's original digital video (ODV) efforts has increased 60% since 2013, according to a recent findings from the IAB. ODV is projected by the trade group to reach 86 million Americans age 13 and older this year, and is attracting an increasingly diverse audience. Mercedes-Benz Vans also recently turned to documentary filmmaking for a content series challenging traditional ideas of toughness and starring the punk icon Henry Rollins.