Founded on self-started video projects that brought live music to the internet in the early days of YouTube, creative and video production company Just So, have been at the forefront of online video for 17 years. They continue to brim with creative and human stories, making them a favourite among their impressive and enduring client roster.
What started off as live music sessions in the back of a London cab, featuring the likes of Bon Iver, The Roots and Charlie XCX, became over 300 sessions and led to a globetrotting series broadcast on Channel 4. Black Cab Sessions was born out of a simple idea: to capture those goosebump moments when artists perform as if to a single person - intimate, unguarded, and emotional. Each session was shot in one take, distilling the magic of live performance to its purest essence. SXSW called it "one of the most innovative things going on in music".
That same pursuit of raw, human connection has been at the heart of everything they’ve done since. Whether working with brands like Red Bull, The Olympics, Netflix, or Ray-Ban, they tell stories that resonate on a deeper level—stories that connect people, create shared experiences, and evoke the kind of authenticity that lingers long after the screen fades.
Here, co-founder Jonny Madderson (who founded JustSo alongside university friend Jono Stevens in 2007), and Managing Partner Matt Shaw, spoke to DCA about how they bring their expert niche to premium clients worldwide.
A niche in storytelling
Just So specialise in human storytelling with the power to change hearts and minds. For the Olympics, Toyota and the IOC asked them to introduce the new sports making their debut at the games in a way that motivated a Gen Z audience to try new experiences and start their journey. They developed and produced Webby award-winning What Moves Me, turning Toyota’s Olympic sponsorship
campaign (“Start Your Impossible”) into a 360 content campaign that motivated GenZ audiences to start their own journey – sporting or otherwise.
And for brands like Netflix and LEGO they ideate and produce videos that get views into the millions. Just So are helping LEGO build out their TikTok channel, as well as content for their apps with authentic, human stories designed to engage new audiences, launch products and inspire play.
“Human storytelling is really the heart of what we do,” says Madderson. “Anything with real people that has real impact.” Recent testimony from their client Netflix praised the team for their ability to find the story and work out how to bring it to life on screen, whether it’s 15 seconds, 30 seconds or 10 minutes.
“It’s real storytelling,” explains Shaw. “We've actually got a casting service as well that we use to find those real, interesting, unique stories. We get to that real, emotional or slightly different story.”
Connecting with audiences
In addition to the human stories-led approach, Just So also describe much of their work as catering directly to the fans of premium brands, as well as building new fans. This is where they find a wealth of creative ideas that connect with audiences. “I think it’s where there’s a passion point,” says Shaw. “We are for brands that want to build for their fans and the community around it, making storytelling content really fits that.”
Their project “Eat Well, Play Well” for M&S is a prime example. Tasked with promoting their healthy Eat Well range, JustSo teamed up with the Home Nations football teams and stars like Jude Bellingham, Leah Williamson, and Harry Kane in the run up to the World Cup and Euros. Through social-first video series – shot pitch-side and in bespoke studio builds at the training camps – JustSo blended entertainment with inspiration, driving a major boost in consideration and purchases. The campaign became one of M&S’s most successful, outperforming all performance metrics.
Elsewhere, for the likes of Expedia, such passion-powered engagement has led them to collaborate on inspiring (and shoppable) travel series showcasing global travel destinations. They created ‘Beyond the Frame’, a travel series designed to showcase lesser travelled destinations through the lens of photography and their stunning scenery. Through testing it was shown that the episode for Azerbaijan resulted in a 139.9% uplift in positive sentiment towards Azerbaijan as a destination worth visiting as well as a 75.3% uplift in likelihood to book in the future.
“By taking a human-led storytelling approach, we were able to showcase these incredible destinations in a truly genuine and relatable way,” says Shaw. “It really helps us connect with and inspire our audience”.
A plug-in specialist
“We work well with internal teams, internal agencies, internal creatives because we're bringing a specialism and we can help develop ideas with our team and theirs at an early stage,” explains Madderson. “They might have people in-house that do videography and photography, but it's when they need something a bit more complex we give a specialist service that can plug in.”
Naturally, Just So frequently collaborate with creative and marketing teams on their client’s side, but they are also finding that they’re often plugged into the social impact department too. Perhaps owing to their B-Corp status and the fact their specialist niche resides in real human stories, social impact teams tap Just So to tell stories about the efforts they are making to do more ethical business and make impacts beyond commercial goals. “As we’re a B Corp as well it kind of helps that we can speak similar languages,” says Madderson.
One example of this is LEGO, who Just So have collaborated with both on building up the online fan base, especially on TikTok, and with their social impact team. “We’ve been working with them to tell stories about the impact that Lego are having on helping children around the world, and being a force for good. We can play into those more social impact stories as well as the more brand focused content.”
And, as their initial creative start demonstrates, Just So also develop their own original documentaries and series. Their recent film with Channel 4 about sports underdogs is a prime example of this. Whether you’re looking to plug in some storytelling and production into your team, or are open to video series ideas optimised for various platforms from YouTube to TikTok, Just So could be your creative collaborator.
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