Tubi incites subscription-fatigued viewers to cheat on Netflix and Hulu
Billboard campaign shows there's no love lost between the streaming services
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Consumers have no lack of options when it comes to subscription streaming services, and they’re only growing weary as more companies like Disney, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal enter the fray. Deloitte’s annual Digital Media Trends survey found that 47 percent of U.S. consumers say they’re frustrated with all the options.
Free streaming service Tubi, which is built on an ad-supported model and so does not offer priced subscriptions, has a new wisecracking campaign that leans into viewers’ frustrations with paying for content. On a series of large billboards appearing in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, Tubi taunts its competitors from the voice of a viewer. “Dear Netflix,” I had my first freesome last night. Tubi was amazing,” and “Dear Hulu, you’re cool and all, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Tubi last night,” read the billboards.
Tubi says the campaign, which was created internally, is its largest out-of-home campaign to date. Ads will also appear on connected TV, on Taxi TV, digital homepage takeovers and social media and, on August 5, Tubi flew a plane over Netflix’s Hollywood office reading: “Dear Netflix, I was with Tubi last night, but I only watched.”