An original series by The Brand Historian™
The brand stories behind
the world you live in.
Why does a tire company tell you where to eat? How does fried chicken become part of Christmas? You and I go back to the people, campaigns and decisions that helped make these things feel normal.
Created & hosted by Chirag Speaks
Three places to begin
EP. 03
1:26
Mastercard 1997
Start with a human moment and see how it becomes a brand's story.
Watch episode 03
EP. 08
1:28
KFC 1974
A familiar brand shows up inside a cultural ritual you may not expect.
Watch episode 08
EP. 09
1:40
Michelin 1900 onward
The unexpected connection between a tire business and the choices on your plate.
Watch episode 09The question behind the series
You buy the ring. You take the photograph. You order the chicken. At some point, a decision someone made in a business becomes a habit you don’t think twice about.
That is what I study. I’ve spent the last decade traveling the world, researching the rise and fall of brands and the role their stories play. This series takes that research out of the conference room and into the things you recognize in your own life.
Some of these stories are inspiring. Some are uncomfortable. I want you to know where they came from, and leave with a different way of looking at the world around you.
From short films to a longer series
These short films introduce the question. A longer episode gives us time to follow it, visit the places, open the archives and hear from people who can help us understand what happened.
The starting proposal is a host-led cultural history series, with six episodes of roughly 25 minutes. Each follows a question about something familiar in our lives, bringing together the brands, people and decisions behind it.
Proposed format for development with a production partner.
A longer episode could ask
Go back through the pictures, characters and meals that became part of a holiday. Follow how commercial ideas found their way into traditions people share with their families.
Possible stories: Coca-Cola, Montgomery Ward, KFC.
A longer episode could ask
A stone, a bottle, a symbol. Follow how a product gains meaning, and how that meaning changes what people are willing to pay, give and keep.
Possible stories: De Beers, Champagne Charlie, Tiffany.
A longer episode could ask
The time on your clock, the clothes you wear and the break you take. Look at the organizations that helped those decisions become normal parts of a working day.
Possible stories: railroad time, the coffee break, business casual.
I’m looking to connect with representatives and production partners who want to explore the next step.
Chirag Speaks / The Brand Historian™Meet the creator & host
I grew up in my family’s clothing stores in New York, wondering why people lined up for the store across the street while we worked so hard to get them through our door. That question has taken me around the world.
Today, I research how brands and institutions rise and fall, share those stories on stage and online, and appear as a brand expert on HISTORY’s The Mega Brands That Built America.
Growing up, the HISTORY Channel and Discovery were how I explored the world without leaving my living room. I want to bring that same feeling of discovery to the stories hiding in everyday life.
The story behind the historianThe Stories They Told is an independent series created by Chirag Speaks.
The short-film collection
Ten completed episodes from a planned collection of 31. Each film has its own page, with context and sources to explore after you watch.
EP. 01
1:33
Coca-Cola 1931
The advertising images that became part of Christmas.
Watch episode 01
EP. 02
1:23
Listerine 1920s
How an everyday condition became a fear of being left out.
Watch episode 02EP. 03
1:26
Mastercard 1997
A baseball game, a father and son, and a different way to talk about value.
Watch episode 03
EP. 04
1:24
Nestlé 20th century
An early case-study film about taste, memory and familiarity.
Watch episode 04
EP. 05
1:33
De Beers 1947
The campaign that strengthened the link between diamonds and commitment.
Watch episode 05
EP. 06
1:19
Lucky Strike 1929
A publicity campaign that borrowed the language of liberation.
Watch episode 06
EP. 07
1:20
Kodak 1888 onward
The camera, the family moment and the habit of keeping a photograph.
Watch episode 07EP. 08
1:28
KFC 1974
A restaurant gives a holiday celebration a recognizable meal.
Watch episode 08EP. 09
1:40
Michelin 1900 onward
A practical travel guide grows into an authority on restaurants.
Watch episode 09
EP. 10
1:19
Guinness 1827 onward
A global product finds meaning through local identity.
Watch episode 10More stories in the planned collection
Pepsi and the Cold War. Montgomery Ward and Rudolph. The rise of business casual. Norwegian salmon and Japanese sushi. There are more everyday choices to go back and question.
For agents, managers & production partners
Interested in representing me or developing The Stories They Told into a longer series? Tell me what you have in mind.
There are ten completed short films to start the conversation. I’m looking for the right people to help develop the format, build the production and bring it to a wider audience.
Prefer email? Chirag@ChiragSpeaks.com
Good Brands Don’t Whisper™
Your Story Will Be Written.
Let’s Make Sure It’s By Your Pen.