With star-studded show ‘The Marketers’, Adobe buys into the branded web series renaissance

Adobe wants to find some hot new slogans and jingles that make PDFs seem cool, so it put Hasan Minhaj and Patty Guggenheim on the case. The two Hollywood stars portray the titular characters in The Marketers, a branded web series that just launched its “second season” on YouTube.

I put “second season” in quotation marks because the first iteration of The Marketers was nothing more than a glorified commercial. In a 2025 ad, Minhaj and Guggenheim heard auditions from a diverse range of stars — including Kristin Chenoweth, Chance the Rapper, and TikToker Leenda Dong — who proposed theme songs for the Adobe Acrobat software.

Now, The Marketers are back. Minhaj and Guggenheim have returned to Adobe’s YouTube channel, where they will star in five episodes filled with workplace comedy and references to Adobe software. Yes, it’s an ad, but it’s a well-written and well-acted ad, so that’s two points in The Marketers‘ favor.

In one sense, The Marketers is a throwback. A decade ago, branded web series were a dime a dozen. There were shows helmed by celebs like Shakira and Christian Slater, pieces of blatant self-promotion, and attempts to ride the coattails of digital stars like Smosh.

Those shows became less common as a pivot to influencer marketing gave rise to the modern creator economy. In 2026, however, we’ve witnessed a web series revival powered by microdramas

and other short-form productions. Companies like Crocs have gotten in on the fun by bringing back the branded web series.

Through partnerships, sponsorships, and events like Adobe MAX, Adobe has become a major supporter of the creator economy. Therefore, the software company is in a great position to dive into the branded web series renaissance, but it’s taking care as it enters the space.

The Marketers feels like a show that borrows all of the most successful elements of previous web series. Cameo appearances will come from traditional celebs like Iliza Shlesinger and YouTube standouts like Colin and Samir, and while Adobe’s main goal may be advertising for Acrobat and other services, it hasn’t skimped on the laughs, either.

“Acrobat isn’t the story – the characters are,” Adobe Global Head of Social Media Jared Carneson told Brand Innovators. “Adobe Acrobat is how they brainstorm, build presentations, shape their campaigns. It doesn’t interrupt the narrative. It moves it forward. That’s the shift we’re making: from content people tolerate to content that earns the attention it asks for. We believe this does.”