Pluto TV grows couch potatoes in its Super Bowl commercial

Pluto TV’s first Super Bowl ad takes viewers back to the root of television, when free ad-supported viewing was the norm. Now, fertilized by an abundance of content, a farm of couch potatoes form “Pluto TV Country,” a streaming TV utopia. The spot will launch a wider brand campaign as well as a brand refresh for the Paramount-owned streamer. Made in the style of farm-fresh food marketing with a dash of mock grandeur apt for Super Bowl creative, the spot considers the state of streaming with epic speeches and sweeping cinematography. Inspirational orchestral music plays as the camera flies over and around fields of couch potatoes—TV watchers dressed as giant spuds. The vegetables are consuming an immense array of content available on Pluto TV, including “The Walking Dead,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Yellowstone,” “The Price is Right,” “Survivor,” “Blue Bloods” and “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.” Each potato represents a different fandom. The rotund beings soliloquize their love for the likes of “Star Trek,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” content that touches the genre of “romantic murders” and a 24/7 cat channel. After an emotional encounter on which Pluto TV’s rom-com channel “got those taters right in their feelings,” the sage farmer protagonist (is he some sort of deity? Pluto in the flesh?) declares, “This country was raised on TV—TV that was easy. TV that was free. Pluto TV is TV the way it was supposed to be.” The spot was directed by Stacy Wall of production company Imperial Woodpecker, and the campaign was led by agency Haymaker. “At some point over the past decade, the world of TV became undeniably crowded and complicated, making audiences yearn for simpler days,” said Valerie Kaplan, global senior VP, head of consumer marketing at Pluto TV, in a statement. “Super Bowl LVIII offers an ideal opportunity to connect with viewers seeking that easy and comforting essence of television, a return to TV the way it should be. We're excited to share our brand story with fans nationwide, using our authentic voice, irreverent sense of humor, and an unforgettable crop of couch potatoes who love TV as much as we, at Pluto, do.” The 60-second spot will run during Super Bowl LVIII (airing on Paramount-owned CBS) and kick off a brand campaign that will run on linear, CTV, radio, streaming audio, out-of-home, digital display and social media in the months following the game. Pluto TV will also sponsor activations in Las Vegas surrounding the Big Game, including Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate and Gronk Beach. The campaign also aligns with a refreshed logo, graphics and color scheme for the streamer. A bold yellow, dubbed “Plutonium” by Pluto TV, was implemented into its logo, which now reveals itself in front of a circle as if light were shining across a planet.

Pluto TV grows couch potatoes in its Super Bowl commercial

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