The idea behind the Unfinished Film was to reposition Adobe Firefly as a collaborative tool for human creativity rather than a replacement. As generative AI gained attention, many professional creators were skeptical, fearing it would devalue authorship and originality. Adobe sought to shift this perception by giving creators a participatory role in content creation.
Our goal was to demonstrate that AI can amplify imagination, engage creators meaningfully, and reinforce Adobe’s brand as a champion of creator-first innovation. We aimed to convert skepticism into active participation by releasing an intentionally incomplete short film, inviting professional and emerging filmmakers to finish it using Firefly.
Specific objectives included:
By positioning the campaign as an open creative experiment, Adobe transformed a potential barrier into an opportunity for hands-on learning, participation, and brand advocacy.
The Unfinished Film was executed as a multi-creator, multi-platform campaign designed to showcase Adobe Firefly AI as a creative partner. The rollout began on June 17, 2025 with a teaser. Then official rollout began July 31, 2025 with the release of an intentionally incomplete short film along with downloadable assets. Multiple filmmakers completed the film using Adobe Firefly and Adobe creative tools, producing distinct outcomes that reflected each creator’s style, tone, and narrative interpretation.
To amplify participation, we created step-by-step tutorials and short-form content for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. These demonstrated real creative workflows and encouraged remixing, sharing, and experimentation. YouTube was prioritized as the anchor platform because long-form tutorials and behind-the-scenes content performed best for engagement and learning among professional creators.
The campaign included paid, earned, and owned amplification, with AI-focused Key Opinion Leaders providing credibility and reach. A coordination of these KOLs both paid and earned alongside embargoed packages and interviews were used to drive widespread coverage across creative, tech, and AI press outlets.
A live activation at Adobe MAX (Adobe’s annual creative conference) allowed attendees to extend the story collaboratively, passing frames from one participant to the next in real time using Firefly tools. This immersive approach turned AI into a participatory creative system rather than a static tool.
Key challenges included overcoming skepticism and demonstrating the practical value of AI in professional workflows. By centering creators and providing transparent examples, we bridged credibility gaps and encouraged experimentation. The campaign is unique in treating AI as a co-creator, integrating it into both creative output and distribution strategy that invited both professional and casual creatives to create something magical with Adobe Firefly.
The campaign surpassed all engagement and brand objectives. It generated 44.5 million total interactions, achieving 161% of the goal, and 1.2 million engaged interactions, 63% above target. YouTube drove 52% of total views and 189,000 link clicks, with a 69% completion rate and 94% of viewers new to the channel, demonstrating incremental reach.
Brand studies showed measurable perception shifts. DISQO and Meta studies reported increases in familiarity (+8.2), ad recall (+8), favorability (+9.4), and consideration (+6.3). Awareness exceeded category norms, and earned media coverage reinforced positive sentiment, with 40+ stories, nearly half in Tier 1 outlets, highlighting participation and workflow transparency.
Most importantly, skeptical creators transitioned to active participation. They completed films, shared tutorials, and integrated Firefly into real-world workflows, demonstrating adoption and behavior change.
These results illustrate how AI-powered creativity can drive engagement, trust, and brand momentum at scale, proving that Firefly is not just a tool but a collaborative enabler for professional creators.
“The campaign has helped grow the Firefly business and support our place at the heart of the Creators culture.” - Jared Carneson, Global Head of Social Media.
