“It’s hard [to repurpose marketing] when you’re making something for TV, and often we just chop shop it and then run it more broadly other places,” said Parlapiano. “What I really like about our fifteens is they’re not a cut-down [of the hero]—you’re seeing scenes that you didn’t see in the 60, there’s bespoke music. I’m always pushing for that because usually any type of TV commercial-type content just flops in other channels after that.”
The original song is also a tribute to the tunes ranchers traditionally sang to cattle to keep them calm, and “viewers’ nerves might be a little frazzled … we’re hoping this calms people down and gives them a bit of joy,” added Parlapiano.
Through the campaign, Tubi seeks to raise brand awareness via the Super Bowl’s mass audience reach, as well as raise consideration amongst the streaming market. Parlapiano said she will also be looking at social sentiment and conversation around the campaign immediately following the game. But over time, Tubi will be tracking incremental traffic gains driven to the platform as well as search for Tubi attributable to the Super Bowl campaign.
In addition to lift with consumers, Parlapiano is looking to grow brand perception with advertisers and build their understanding of what Tubi offers to drive higher investment for ad buys. The marketer wants to have a better sense of whether advertisers still see Tubi as part of a lower class of streamer or if it’s now being considered in the same league as streamers often described as “premium,” such as Hulu.
Read more: Inside Tubi’s Super Bowl streaming ad deals
“For so many years, we were not cool and told our business model wasn’t going to work and ad-supported [streaming] was never going to be a thing and viewers were never going to want it,” said Parlapiano, describing parallels between the hero’s journey in Tubi’s Super Bowl spot to the brand’s own growth. “Now here we are, and everyone’s here with us, and we’re just going to be gracious and tip our hat.”
During Tubi’s stream of the Super Bowl and pre-game coverage, the streamer will air additional spots in partnership with other Super Bowl brands, although Parlapiano declined to identify in advance.
One partnership with e.l.f. aired during Tubi’s pregame. After the cosmetics brand’s ad, in which a German scientist takes testing product review claims too seriously, a spot immediately followed declaring, “If that e.l.f. ad was a Tubi movie.” The same actor is shown wielding medical tools menacingly while the title “Trial & Terror” appears. The narrator claims that the film will soon come to Tubi “if enough people like this trailer we just made.”