Nuuly is anchoring its fall campaign in a microdrama, releasing a 12-part scripted series called "Heart on My Sleeve" across TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, Marketing Dive reports. The episodes, which together run about 12 minutes, are dropping in batches of three through August 25 after debuting on August 18.
The series stars comedian Wally Baram, of Prime Video's "Overcompensating," as an art teacher scrambling to find a date for an upcoming wedding, with the episodes humorously chronicling one unsuccessful attempt after another. Baram's character cycles through Nuuly-sourced outfits from brands including Lioness, Collina Strada and Frankies Bikinis, and the scripts tuck in Easter eggs drawn from real customer habits — like partners dropping rental return bags at the post office. Each episode is built to stand alone, opening with a "previously on" recap so algorithm-driven viewers can enter the story anywhere. The cast also includes Charles Hsu, Chine Ikoro, Tara Raani, Khial Watson, Jean-Luc and Quentin Nguyen-Duy, with Milky Tran directing.
Nuuly developed the series with Dayna's House, an independent agency specializing in social-first marketing, which turned around its first project for the brand in a matter of weeks. Founder and CEO Dayna Carney said microdramas give brands a rare opportunity for world building through social-native storytelling.
Kirsten Henri, Nuuly's senior director of creative and content, framed the format as an answer to advertising fatigue, saying consumers are worn out by brands selling hard at them in increasingly congested feeds. Her bar for success is generous: "If they watch one and send it to somebody, that's also a win."
The campaign lands during a growth run for the rental service. Launched in 2019 by Urban Outfitters Inc. — the parent of Anthropologie and Free People — Nuuly turned profitable for the first time last year and grew revenue roughly 35% year over year in the three months ended April 30.