Look, we’re a corporate video production agency.
We’ve made a lot of videos — some inspiring, some emotional, some that have made people cry in boardrooms (in a good way).
But today? We’re not talking about those. Today, we’re talking about the ones that hurt. The videos that give corporate content a bad name. The ones where everyone looks vaguely held hostage.
So in the spirit of prevention — or at least a little commiseration — here’s how to make a truly terrible corporate video.
(And yes, we’ve seen all of this. With our own eyes. Multiple times.)
Step 1: Start With a Brief That Tells Us Absolutely Nothing
- “We want something cool.”
- “Make it fun.”
- “A bit different… but, like, not too different.”
- “10 minutes?”
This is where it all begins. With The Bad Brief— vague, fluffy, and completely unhelpful.
Cool to who? Different from what? And why 10 minutes? No one knows. Not even the person who wrote it.
The worse the brief, the worse the video. Guaranteed.
Step 2: Frame It Like a Hostage Situation
Set your spokesperson up against a blank wall. No background. No light. No movement. No life.
Make them stand awkwardly in the middle of the shot like they’re on trial. Ideally in business casual.
The result? A beautifully stiff, soulless shot that screams “I was forced to do this at 4:30 on a Thursday.”
Step 3: Speak Fluent Corporate Nonsense
“We’re leveraging scalable innovation to empower our people-first values.”
“Driving transformation through synergy and alignment.”
Yes. Say all the things that sound like things… but mean absolutely nothing.
If your script reads like it was written by a chatbot who just binge-watched a TED Talk playlist — you’re doing it right.
Step 4: Remove All Traces of Humanity
No emotion. No personality. Just tightly scripted lines spoken in a monotone. Nobody laughs. Nobody moves. Nobody blinks, if you can help it.
Forget showcasing real people with ideas, stories, or opinions — just keep it robotic and beige. That’s the corporate way, right?
(Spoiler: It’s not. At least, not anymore.)
Step 5: Choose the Most Soul-Crushing Stock Music Available
There are thousands of amazing royalty-free music tracks out there.
So obviously… pick the worst one. Look for something that sounds like it was made in PowerPoint in 2006.
Ideally, it loops awkwardly. Bonus points for pan flute.
Music sets the tone. Elevator music sets the tone to please make it stop.
Step 6: Replace Your Team with Actors in Branded Polos
Why showcase your brilliant, funny, imperfect-but-relatable team, when you could fly in a group of shiny strangers to pretend to be them?
Nothing says authentic like hired talent fake-smiling and slow-motion high-fiving in the breakroom.
This is chef’s kiss if you’re really committed to missing the point.
In All Seriousness...
We know corporate video gets a bad rap. But it’s not the format — it’s the way it’s done.
Corporate video can be funny. Human. Bold. Strategic. Emotional. Smart. It just needs to stop trying to be everything to everyone — and start telling the truth.
As a corporate video production agency, we’re not here to make you sound like every other brand in your sector. We’re here to help you say something real, in a way that actually makes people care.
So if you're sick of playing Corporate Video Bingo. Let’s make something people actually want to watch.
We’re MHF Creative.
We save good marketers from bad content. And we don’t do beige.
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