During the 2023 Super Bowl, Tubi premiered “Interface Interruption”, an ad that mimicked a live broadcast glitch,
making viewers think someone had changed the channel to the Tubi interface. As a free streaming service with one of the biggest libraries still under the radar, they stated that they wanted to simply attract new users.
While it worked, with an increase of X amount of users, the lifespan of the ad still fell short because
Tubi lacks big media names that give other streaming platforms their value.
They didn’t call out to a core audience who would want in on the joke of a prank. They needed to establish what their actual personality was, aside from being disruptive without any explanation as to why.
People sign up for prestige streaming platforms like Netflix and HBO Max for specific content, but
In 2023, Netflix was cracking down on password sharing, Disney+ was raising prices, and Max was removing shows that had been the reason people signed up for them in the first place. Hundreds of articles came out about subscription fatigue, all pointing to the same angst that platforms were constantly tightening their grip.
Other streamers were exerting authority in a punitive way, but Tubi commandeered college bars, dive bars, crowded watch parties in tiny apartments, and living rooms full of generations of families on couches and patios to promote their platform of the wild and expansive and unrestricted platform. People were stunned, asking “how is this even allowed?”
In a heavily controlled streaming world, chaos is currency.
Deep Cut Fiends: Younger viewers (ages 18-49) who take pride in finding "hidden gems" and obscure content.
They’re tired of mainstream platforms and are energized by a “class clownery” sentiment. They pride themselves on finding hidden gems before anyone else, not looking for prestige, but for something to feel like they're in on. The class clown energy of the Super Bowl ad was already speaking their language. Tubi just needed to claim them.
Tubi is the troublemaker of streaming - with thousands of titles that are mischievously free.
Tubi convinces you to watch weird stuff that your parents just “don’t get”…Giallo horror, obscure 90s anime, or a three-hour documentary about competitive dog grooming. Everything that other platforms are too “high-brow” to touch.
Idea
Tubi Panic
To give Tubi’s “Interface Interruption” a better grip on its message, we will lean into something slightly uglier, yet a familiar phenomenon to the “anti-establishment” ethos: moral panic.
Using the aesthetic of 1990s anti-drug PSAs, we will manufacture a "Tubi Panic" that frames the platform as a “Bad Influence Friend” that puzzles some and entices others.
Phase 1 (The Warning): PSA-style social media posts with messages like:“Are your children exhibiting anti-social behaviors?” or "Do you know what your children are watching?” They might be watching Tubi.
Phase 2 (The Proof): The“Interface Interruption" Super Bowl ad premiers, garnering attention towards the trail of warnings they’ve already published. Everyone is in on the joke. It is reframed as proof that someone in the room has been corrupted by a bad influence friend.
Phase 3 (The Aftermath): Build a loyal audience of viewers who are proud contrarians, proudly claiming Tubi with a "Fake Apology Generator" website where they can send ironic apologies for changing the channel without anyone’s permission.