Last Sunday, Super Bowl fans were sacking pillows and tackling bodies in desperate pursuit of the T.V. remote. Tubi, a free streaming service owned by Fox Corporation, sent practically every diehard football enthusiast into a complete frenzy with their genius marketing prank. American dads across the nation were spilling beers and hotdogs as they watched their television switch channels right in the middle of the neck-and-neck, 38-35, Chiefs and Eagles game. The clever ad tricked viewers into thinking the game was back on when Fox Sports announcers Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen appeared, only for the screen to abruptly flip to a movie featured on the Tubi app. If you thought someone sat on the remote that night, you’re not the only one. In fact, the cheeky stunt became the talk of the town as the commercial fooled millions of viewers nationwide. Some were lucky enough to record those frantic attempts of searching for the remote, while others took to the internet to share their reactions.
While the ad was supposed to be a joke, a few viewers were a little too passionate that night to find the prank even a slight bit funny. One viewer wrote that she had to break up with her boyfriend over the 15-second commercial, explaining that he blamed her and then punched a hole in the wall. It seems to me like Tubi did that girl a favor! Another outraged viewer posted on Twitter and said, “Tubi should be SUED for that commercial.”
Talk about a tough crowd!
However, with the recent spike in domestic abuse cases, the commercial sent some families into a fit of rage. Some people are arguing that Tubi should have anticipated the negative outcomes, especially since domestic violence is shown to increase during sporting events. In Tubi’s defense, a commercial shouldn’t be used as an excuse to lash out in a violent rage. So instead of blaming a commercial, we should instead raise awareness for those victims who are trapped in dangerous situations.
Regardless of whether or not Tubi took it “too far” with their 15 seconds of fame, it’s safe to assume that their mission was definitely accomplished. Tubi even captioned their commercial on YouTube, “No, you didn’t sit on the remote, but on Super Bowl Sunday, we fooled audiences into thinking they did.”
So, who exactly came up with the genius idea of pissing off the audience of America’s favorite sport?
Greg Han produced the commercial, saying that his creativity blossomed after Tubi’s team reached out and asked if they could be revealed to the world “personality-first. Not title-first.” I think we can all agree that Tubi flashed its true colors Sunday night, and even though the streaming service might’ve caused a few heart attacks and sucker punches, the commercial successfully became the new talk of the town. I guess you could say that Tubi taught us all a valuable lesson, which is to keep the remote within arm’s reach.
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