LOS ANGELES, CA
GRAHAM DEVAULT HILL
G.D.H.ABOUT
Two men taking a selfie together at dusk, one waving at the camera.
A man sitting against a tree at dusk, writing in a notebook.
A hand holding a phone running a Messenger video call, two people on screen.
A man with locs in a pink shirt, seated indoors, looking off camera.
A man at a desk beside a warm lamp and an open laptop, mid-sentence.
A documentary shoot in progress — the subject at his desk framed through the camera rig.
Several people lying on the floor with their heads together, laughing.
Instagram post from @messenger: “There were high stakes when @kayeshurricane called his mom that day. Then she picked up.”
Instagram post from @messenger, 18,433 views: “Finding community can be much more than finding people you like — it can be a means of survival.”
Instagram post from @messenger, 16,617 views: “Being vulnerable can be scary, but it can lead to something beautiful when we feel safe.”

BRANDMessenger Documentaries

PROJECT: MESSENGER DOCUMENTARIES

CONTEXT

With an app that serves over a billion people, at a certain point the numbers stop connecting to anyone real. Yes, a billion people is a lot — but that’s a number on a spreadsheet. Work inside that abstraction long enough and you quickly forget the individuals behind it. It carried an external cost too: Messenger read as utility, Facebook’s chat feature, a category with no loyalty in it. What the product actually did for people every day was closeness. Few of the brand associations reflected that.

APPROACH

Get specific. Billions can feel big, but that’s about the only feeling they evoke. One person’s story — what Messenger actually changed in their life — is specific, unrepeatable, and the only version anyone can feel. Every tech company claims to be about human connection, so don’t just claim it, show it. Hire documentary directors instead of commercial ones, steer the process rather than dictate, and build the narrative so that every word is unscripted interview audio.

SOLUTION

Two films, four minutes each. Ben, the only one of five siblings who doesn’t speak his parents’ Yoruba, learning it over Messenger and passing it to his daughter. Kais, granted asylum from Tunisia, building a community in Los Angeles while holding onto his mother back home. Every frame of Messenger on screen is the live product, not a mockup. Each film anchored the cultural month it belonged to — in full on Facebook, in three vertical parts across the month on Instagram.

OUTCOME

Over a million views across Messenger’s social platforms, and the documentary cuts outperformed the campaign posts running beside them. Four minutes on a man learning his parents’ language held attention on a feed designed for quick bursts. Ben’s own comment under his post: “Such a beautiful experience. Thank you for honoring me.”

ROLE

Director, Product Creative

SCOPE

Series concept and brief, director selection, treatment approval, product and brand integration, the live Messenger UI system used for on-screen chat, governance through cut and delivery, and the Comms team that took the films to market.

PARTNERS

Maya Emelle Dirty Robber Laura Sisteró Cyprien Clément-Delmas

Two men taking a selfie together at dusk, one waving at the camera.

BRANDMessenger Documentaries

CONTEXT

With an app that serves over a billion people, at a certain point the numbers stop connecting to anyone real. Yes, a billion people is a lot — but that’s a number on a spreadsheet. Work inside that abstraction long enough and you quickly forget the individuals behind it. It carried an external cost too: Messenger read as utility, Facebook’s chat feature, a category with no loyalty in it. What the product actually did for people every day was closeness. Few of the brand associations reflected that.

A hand holding a phone running a Messenger video call, two people on screen.

APPROACH

Get specific. Billions can feel big, but that’s about the only feeling they evoke. One person’s story — what Messenger actually changed in their life — is specific, unrepeatable, and the only version anyone can feel. Every tech company claims to be about human connection, so don’t just claim it, show it. Hire documentary directors instead of commercial ones, steer the process rather than dictate, and build the narrative so that every word is unscripted interview audio.

SOLUTION

Two films, four minutes each. Ben, the only one of five siblings who doesn’t speak his parents’ Yoruba, learning it over Messenger and passing it to his daughter. Kais, granted asylum from Tunisia, building a community in Los Angeles while holding onto his mother back home. Every frame of Messenger on screen is the live product, not a mockup. Each film anchored the cultural month it belonged to — in full on Facebook, in three vertical parts across the month on Instagram.

OUTCOME

Over a million views across Messenger’s social platforms, and the documentary cuts outperformed the campaign posts running beside them. Four minutes on a man learning his parents’ language held attention on a feed designed for quick bursts. Ben’s own comment under his post: “Such a beautiful experience. Thank you for honoring me.”

Instagram post from @messenger: “There were high stakes when @kayeshurricane called his mom that day. Then she picked up.”
Instagram post from @messenger, 18,433 views: “Finding community can be much more than finding people you like — it can be a means of survival.”
Instagram post from @messenger, 16,617 views: “Being vulnerable can be scary, but it can lead to something beautiful when we feel safe.”

ROLE

Director, Product Creative

SCOPE

Series concept and brief, director selection, treatment approval, product and brand integration, the live Messenger UI system used for on-screen chat, governance through cut and delivery, and the Comms team that took the films to market.

PARTNERS

Maya Emelle Dirty Robber Laura Sisteró Cyprien Clément-Delmas