AVOD start-up Tubi is kicking off a multi-platform ad campaign featuring Chris Noth, Carmen Electra, Terrence Howard, Nicole Sscherzinger, Robin Thicke and Colton Underwood in tongue-in-cheek spots.
“We’re trying to find a fun, playful way to to talk about subscription fatigue and the streaming wars,” said Emily Jordan, vice president of marketing for the free-to-consumer service.
Indeed, amid the noise being generated by Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max and other new subscription streaming services, San Francisco-based Tubi is hoping to make noise with the stars of yesteryear.
Twenty years after his iconic portrayal as the commit-phobic “Mr. Big” on HBO’s Sex and the City, for example, Noth plays a man who fears getting looped into monthly bills by paywalled streaming services. (You can see that spot here.)
The rest of the spots play off a similar theme, with each celeb exploring their issues with subscription streaming with a therapist. Elektra was driven out of a long-term relationship with an SVOD service and is “trying something new.”
Howard laments the toll method acting takes on his psyche—and the freedom he feels from ditching Netflix in favor of Tubi.
You get the idea.
According to Jordan, Tubi has purchased ad inventory on Roku and Amazon Fire TV for the spots, which will also be distributed through social media and on YouTube. Print and outdoor components will also be found in key parts of New York and Los Angeles, such as JFK and LAX.
For Tubi, it’s a matter of building audience and awareness through creative marketing. The streaming service recently reported 20 million active users a month.
“I think our talent is diverse as the audience,” Jordan said.
