Polaroid has been synonymous with instant photography for decades, but its cultural meaning had become diffuse: people recognized the name without a clear sense of what it stood for. It was time to remind them of the legacy the brand had built over the years within creative culture through their iconic products and collaborations with the likes of Andy Warhol and Ansel Adams.
Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary offered the perfect context - few movements have documented themselves as passionately on Polaroid film, and Polaroid cameras have quietly chronicled Hip Hop’s rise since the 1980s. Made You Look, a short documentary, reconnected the brand to its authentic cultural roots - reaffirming Polaroid as a brand that has always been an authentic part of creative culture - by tracing Hip Hop’s European journey through the voices of established and emerging artists, photographers, and tastemakers in London, Paris, and Amsterdam who live at the intersection of music, art, and analogue creation.
Strategy
Concept
Talent curation
Community building
Film production
Music production
Content creation
Media partnership
Event production
The project didn’t live only on screen, it traveled as IRL screenings through all three cities, each shaped by its local character and partners: Patta, Paperboy, Victory Lap Radio and Places+Faces. These events brought communities together, turning screenings into cultural gatherings that reflected the distinctive energy of each scene.
To amplify the story further, we partnered with Wax Poetics, a respected authority in music culture. Together we created editorials, exclusive content, a physical zine, and a targeted online campaign, reaching the opinion leaders who define creative culture. The result wasn’t just strong numbers; it repositioned Polaroid as an active participant in contemporary creative culture, proving that meaningful connections drive brand relevance.
