This thesis examines how authenticity is articulated and communicated in contemporary forms of branded entertainment. In a digital media landscape, participatory culture and co-creation has become of primary importance, leading to ‘authentic’ and ‘amateurist’ characteristics being strategically implemented in advertisements and professional media content production. At the same time, research on brand communication and authenticity have overlooked the many ways in which brands extend and mediate authenticity, especially in relation to symbolism and visual semiotics.

In this thesis, we explore the way symbolic meaning is constructed in We the Bathers, a documentary produced in 2019 by director Phoebe Arnstein in collaboration with Lush, a cosmetic brand known for their vegan-friendly and cruelty-free products. The study was conducted using visual analysis which allows us to approach the study object in a qualitative and exploratory way. We then apply the theoretical frameworks of cultural myths and digital storytelling to analyze the effects and strategies employed in We the Bathers to communicate authenticity through the filmic medium.

By extending Bell & Leonard’s framework for evaluating organizational storytelling, which highlights the role of the communicative codes of affinity, authenticity andamateurism, we argue that the overall notion of authenticity in video content produced for digital environments can be determined through either of these lenses. By examining the intention of the sender in terms of genuineness (authenticity), relatability (affinity), and techniques which lends the story a sense of ‘realness’ (amateurism), our findings indicate that authenticity can be viewed as a tool for producing certain media effects as opposed to arising from the mediation of inherent personality traits.