“It’s more popular than wall-mounted dual-actuating drinking fountains.”

Tubi makes that weirdly random claim in funny work breaking today from Mischief @ No Fixed Address. The campaign aims to dispel the Fox-owned streamer’s status as a challenger brand, 

Ads directed in silly, surreal style by Andreas Nilsson compare Tubi’s more than 75 million viewers—way up from a year ago—to all sorts of “popular” stuff. Note the quote marks. In these commercials, the notion of “popularity” is loosely (and numerically) defined.

And in each case, of course, Tubi comes out ahead. Sorry, drinking fountains.

“We wanted to show advertisers our scale by adding context to our numbers that show our scale in a fun, irreverent way,” a Tubi rep tells Muse.

What’s more, “We often hear that Tubi feels like something viewers have discovered and that we’re the best kept secret in streaming. So, we wanted viewers to know the secret is out and they are among millions of other Tubi lovers,” the rep says.

Divorce plays into the campaign, too, along with babies and Old Faithful (a fountain of sorts, though not wall mounted).

“Old Faithful erupts roughly every hour and 15 minutes and when we arrived on set, storm clouds were approaching quickly,” the rep recalls. “We were in the middle of a safety briefing with park rangers and the team had to scramble to get the shot with a bit of blue sky. That opening scene was shot on a hand held camera over the shoulder.”

Tubi and Mischief are all about irreverent marketing. This latest effort earns extra points for using actual data to entertainingly lampoon data-driven hype while still delivering a compelling brand message.

Past efforts include 2023’s lauded Super Bowl spot with giant creepy bunnies, cinema send-ups all about the thrills of media buying, and exceptionally wacky sitcom spoofs.

CREDITS

Tubi
Chief Marketing Officer – Nicole Parlapiano
Senior Vice President, B2B Marketing – Cynthia Clevenger
Vice President, Brand and Consumer Marketing – Jeff Campbell
Senior Program Manager – Tiana Harris 
Director, Media – Leisha Bereson

Mischief
Films
CCO and Co-Founder – Greg Hahn
Partner & Executive Creative Director – Bianca Guimaraes
Partner & Executive Creative Director – Kevin Mulroy
CD – Carl Peterson 
CD – Eleanor Rask
EVP, Production – Will Dempster
Senior Producer – Hannah Kessler
Partner & Head of Strategy – Jeff McCrory
EVP, Strategy – Ed Gunn
Strategist – Hannah Hugeback
Partner & President – Kerry McKibbin
Managing Director – Tyler Harris
Group Account Director – Sam Crawford
Account Supervisor – Anthony Williams 
Partner & Head of Development – Oliver McAteer

Director: Andreas Nilsson
Founding Partner: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Producer: Cathy Green & Jay Veal
Head of Production: Sean Moody
Director of Photography: Lasse Frank
Production Designer: Jon Blud
Costume Designer: Claudia Martins
Makeup and Hair Stylist: Eva Quilez

SPAIN SERVICE CO – 24/7
Producer: Edu Olavide
EP: Lole Ramírez
EP / Ambassador: Jordi Mollà
1 st AD: Ferran Rial
Production Manager: Monica Canellas
Production Coordinator: Reinaldo Lancaster
Talent Coordinator: Eva Cid
Location Manager: Marcel Tomas

Edit – Mack Cut 
Editor – Ian Mackenzie 
Edit Assistant – Zach Gentry 
Executive Producer – Gina Pagano 

Post Production: BaconX
VFX Supervisor/CD: Jonas Drehn
Producer: Daniella Strand
Lead Compositor: Jacob Carlsson
Compositors:  Adam Isaksson, Mathias Valentin, James Johnston
Colourist: Sam Gilling
Conform and mastering: Oliver Wozny
Delivery and versioning: Larsen VFX

Audio – Wave 
Executive Producer – Vicky Ferraro
Producer – Eleni Giannopoulos
Sound Engineer – Aaron Reynolds & Austin Ferreria 

Music – Human
Executive Producer – James Wells

Mischief
OOH
VP, Client Operations & Delivery – Petra Simpson
Senior Production Artist – Gavin Gillespie
Senior Production Artist – John Rodrigues
Studio Manager – Sheila Jacklin

Super Bowl is the one thing our parents and their sassy movie club text chains understand about our jobs. So the stakes are high.

But not nearly as high as the stakes for our clients, who are (very understandably) terrified to spend the equivalent of Sly Stallone’s Hidden Hills estate on a 30-second commercial viewed during watch parties awash in beers, room temperature meats and nagging bladders.

The problem with a huge budget is that it comes with massive amounts of fear, scrutiny, stress and the opinion of that guy who did that one thing that one time in the ’90s.

Which lures you into thinking from the outside in: Which celebrity can we get? What song can we license? How many talking animals are too many? Let’s check Taika Waititi’s avails.

If you don’t feel like reading Rick Rubin’s book on creativity (you should, and I’ve heard he narrates his own audio book and it’s mesmerizing), here’s one overarching theme: Trying to come up with something you think the audience will like is the fastest way to make something the audience will not like.  

Why? Because what the audience actually wants is the best possible execution of a great idea–something you really love, not a focus-grouped celebrity-fest with or without Will Ferrell. What people actually want is something simple, insightful, (sometimes) weird, (sometimes) funny and, I’d argue, most of all, unexpected. 

At Mischief, we have a two-step process for developing ideas: 1). What are we trying to say? and 2). What’s the most interesting way to say it? The problem with your ginormous budget is it can make you think the process should be different for the Super Bowl. But it’s not.

Let’s look at three recent examples, none of which were ruined by a big, fat, potentially idea-ruining budget. 

“It’s a Tide Ad” 2018

You don’t even have to rewatch this campaign to remember what it was saying: Tide cleans clothes. To me, the best line of an impeccably executed idea was, “So, does that make every Super Bowl ad … a Tide ad?” Now, every spot in the Big Game that’s not for laundry detergent is a letdown. Did they need Stranger Things actor David Harbour to be in those ads? He’s great. But no, they didn’t. Did you remember his name is David Harbour? No, you didn’t.

Chrysler, “Born of Fire” (aka “Imported from Detroit”) 2011

This Chrysler spot with Eminem had one of the most well-written scripts I’ve heard in the last decade. What was their point? Detroit makes cars. Then they wrote a script that’s so good it made me mad, and made all of America, for exactly 60 seconds, go “Fuck yeah! America is Detroit!” Which is not an easy thing to do. Is this idea a million times better with Eminem? Of course it is, but that’s the power of an intentional and thoughtful use of a celebrity (and the incredibly tasteful choice of using just the intro to “Lose Yourself”). And then an intern was like, “What about a choir at the end?” And they were like, “You got it, kid.”

Tubi, “Interface Interruption” 2023

Hey look at that, one of our own commercials made the list! We got to the idea with a simple realization: the product is also a product demo. Yes, we had celebrities, but they were Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen, the actual announcers for the game. We used them to make it look like the broadcast had returned from the commercial break, only to have someone switch from the Super Bowl to Tubi, casually stroll titles, and land on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. My favorite anecdote from that spot is that we made 500 people in a Vegas betting room crane their necks to see whose dog sat on the remote.

Again, and I can’t emphasize this enough: I like big juicy budgets, too. I’m just less fond of the budget leading the idea, as opposed to the other way around. I’d also like to go on record as saying that I’d still like to work with Will Ferrell. And let’s check Taika Waititi’s avails, just in case.

CLICK HERE to watch all of this year’s Super Bowl commercials as they’re released. 
 

First, our top five news items…

5. Rob Gronkowski Will Try to Kick a Field Goal Live During Super Bowl for FanDuel

Jan. 9, 2023

This high-profile Big Game push generated lots of media attention as the former NFL tight end put his best foot forward in a series of fun ads created by Wieden+Kennedy. It culminated in a live spot on Super Bowl Sunday, with bettors in line to win a share of $10 million if Gronk prevailed.

Read more here.

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4. ‘Rabbit Holes’ From Tubi Wins Super Clio as Big Game’s Best Ad

Feb. 13, 2023

Created by Mischief and director Tom Kuntz, this mildly creepy :60 broke the mold, tossing aside celebrity SB cliches in favor of offbeat style. “Those rabbits are burned in my mind and I’ll never forget this ad,” said Super Clio juror Katherine O’Brien, GCD at VaynerMedia.

Read more here.

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3. Faith Organization He Gets Us Puts Jesus Christ in Super Bowl 

Feb. 12, 2023

Christian outreach organization He Gets Us generated plenty of headlines around the game through a pair of mostly monochrome commercials. Along with providing food for thought, the effort miffed both left- and right-wingers.

Read more here. 

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2. Canadian Armed Forces’ Latest Appeal Tries a New Direction 

Mar. 23, 2023

Inverting traditional recruitment models, “This Is For You” took a  holistic approach, weaving the notion of service—military and otherwise—into the fabric of one’s being. Though a tad hokey, this approach struck a chord.

Read more here.

1. Capital One Casts John Travolta as Santa Claus

Oct. 31, 2023

This disco-fied fusion of branding and nostalgia didn’t miss a beat. Our coverage garnered more views than any other story or essay we ran in 2023. What’s more, the ad from GSD&M topped Muse’s inaugural holiday readers’ poll.

Read more here.

 

And now, our top five essays by industry execs and experts…

5. Why Some Brands Are Doing TikTok Wrong—and Steps They Can Take to Ace the Platform

June 12, 2023

Michelle Nguyen of Super Duper Studios posited that young people experience social media, and especially TikTok, as “a kind of temple, where a big part of their personalities live and evolve.” She provided keys to help brands crack this elusive code.

Read more here.

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4. The Day Advertising Died and Marketing’s New Era Dawned

April 11, 2023

Kurt Kretten of Marks wrote: “On Thursday, April 23, 2020, the convergence of media, brands and culture changed everything for good. Epic Games, Fortnite and Travis Scott, along with other behind-the-scenes partners and collaborators, came together around the rapper’s first virtual concert on the gaming platform.”

Read more here. 

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3. Gen Z Trends Are Transforming Social Media 

Aug. 24, 2023

“Gen Z is prioritizing positivity and authenticity, while pushing for anonymous self-expression and snackable entertainment,” wrote Tom Hyde of Movers+Shakers. “These distinct values are shaping the social landscape and redefining the way marketers must think and act if they want to make connections.”

Read more here.

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2. 6 Ads You Should Watch Before Starting an Agency

July 20, 2023

Dhaval Bhatt of Courage, celebrating his Toronto-based agency’s first year in business, analyzed important creative lessons from Dick’s Sporting Goods, Honda, Under Armour and more.

Read more here.

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1. A Father Teaches His Son the Secret of Creativity

June 16, 2023

Ogilvy N.A. president and CCO Chris Beresford-Hill traveled back to the future for Father’s Day. He sweetly recalled how his dad helped him see things in new and different ways, sparking a lifelong love of creativity. Ultimately, this set young Chris on the path to becoming an ad-maker of global import.

Read more here.

That guy said something. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Other amusing entries goof on hunky-lifeguard romcoms (that’s a thing?), hardboiled crime dramas and musicals with dance routines that get waaay out of hand:

I’ve got abs like that!

As you might recall, Tubi and Mischief won the Super Clio for the best Big Game ad of 2023. Their kooky/creepy rabbits hopped high above the commercial competition.

Alas, this new flight doesn’t rise to that level, and such spoofery’s nothing new. But it’s extremely well done, with sharp scripts and snappy production values. The approach should have broad appeal.

“In our first big consumer campaign post-Super Bowl, we wanted to show that Tubi doesn’t just scratch the surface of different genres and sub-genres,” says Mischief creative director Carl Peterson. “But that you can actually go really deep on them. Like, if you’re really into crime dramas about narcos, Tubi has days’ worth instead of just a few hours’ worth. This led us to the idea that on Tubi, the things you love just keep going and going and going and going.”

The actual tagline, “Just Keeps Going,” harkens back to an entirely different bunny.

Other clips target football fans in local markets, with team names like Giants, Cowboys and Bears cueing footage from genre flicks, nature docs, action films and more.

“There is no shortage of content available these days and many people are overwhelmed with choice but what’s unique about Tubi is you can continue to watch the obscure things you love without ever getting that empty feeling like you’ve reached the end of your favorite series,” says brand CMO Nicole Parlapiano. “This campaign is an homage to and celebration of our passionate viewers and their individual tastes, and with it, we are aiming to meet them where they are in a contextually relevant way.”

And here’s some spiffy OOH that keeps the message going:

Nicole Parlapiano is the chief marketing officer at Tubi and has brought heart to the brand by reshaping its narrative from the ground-up. Her insight—that Tubi offers a personalized content journey, without judgment—has translated into award-winning campaigns. Parlapiano has been recognized as one of Ad Age’s Leading Women for 2023 and a top marketing executive by StreamTV. Tubi’s inaugural Super Bowl ads have won or been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Super Clio.

Earlier, she held senior marketing posts at Tinder and WeWork. Parlapiano also served at VaynerMedia, helping shape efforts for Anheuser-Busch, JPMorgan Chase, L’Oreal and Sprint. 

We spent two minutes with Nicole to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired.

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Nicole, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up in Chatham, N.J. I lived in New York City for a number of years, but I now live in Hermosa Beach, Calif., with my husband and son. 

How you first realized you were creative.

When I was a little girl, I had an overactive imagination. I loved doing performances for my family, and as the oldest child, my parents were always willing to dress up and play along with me. Reenactments of The Wizard of Oz were always a favorite. 

A person you idolized creatively early on.

When I was growing up, Madonna was everything to me. She was such a trend-setting fashion icon and I loved her music. I’m especially drawn to performance art. It’s the ultimate expression of creativity, and Madonna embodied that. 

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

When I moved to New York to attend Fordham University. Going to school in New York really solidified my career trajectory. Being at the epicenter of marketing and advertising, surrounded by energy and creativity, confirmed for me that this was the field I wanted to go into. 

A visual artist or band/musician you admire.

I’ve always been an admirer of Gwen Stefani—from her start in No Doubt to her transition into her solo career. Her early music videos were so stylish. Much as Madonna was a cultural pillar of the ’80s, Gwen Stefani defined the alt-girl attitude of the ’90s. 

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

I’ve recently been inspired by the “No Mercy/No Malice” episodes of the Prof G Podcast. In each episode, Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business, takes an insightful deep dive into a wide array of topics from fame to taxes.

Your favorite fictional character.    

Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She’s compassionate yet courageous, plus her shoes are fabulous. 

Someone or something worth following in social media.

Octopusslover8 and Angel Reese on TikTok. 

How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally.

My husband and I welcomed our first child, Santino, during the pandemic. Juggling working from home with a newborn was challenging, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. He’s my world.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on. 

I’m especially proud of the social work we did while I was at Tinder, revamping the brand’s entire social presence and doubling down on TikTok. We had the opportunity to do a ton of culturally relevant work—getting Tinks and Diplo to go on a date, and working with talent including Noah Beck to create fictional pieces of content based on fan suggestions.

A recent project you’re proud of.

Tubi’s “Interface Interruption’ Super Bowl spot—specifically the reaction that it stirred online. The ultimate compliment to me was seeing people create video content based on what we did. I loved seeing all of the TikToks that people made highlighting their reactions after they thought someone sat on the remote during the game. 

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.

Nike’s campaign with Colin Kapernick—cliche, I know, but it stood out to me because it was a risk. Nike always does beautiful, emotive work, but at the time they knew this would be a polarizing topic and they moved forward anyway. While they received some backlash, they knew that it was in line with their customer values, which was a huge equity builder. 

Someone else’s work you admired lately.

Paris Hilton’s Long TikTok for Hilton Hotels. To create a 10-minute clip on a short-form platform was a bold choice. But the comedic, self-referential tone was on the nose, as was the the clever tie-in that, much like the long video, Hilton Hotels are a place you wouldn’t mind staying a while. 

Your main strength as a creative person.    

That I trust those around me. I have extreme respect for the creatives that I work with and give them room to come up with bold ideas rather than trying to push my own ideas forward. 

Your biggest weakness.    

I have a short attention span and get over things quickly. When I’m in the thick of a project, I tend to get tired of looking at scripts or reviewing creative and it becomes harder to look at things objectively. 

One thing that always makes you happy.    

Looking at my son’s face. 

One thing that always makes you sad.

Thinking about gun control in the United States, especially as a parent. 

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in marketing.

I’d love to teach marketing at the collegiate level. A continuous highlight throughout my career has been nurturing and developing talent, so working with students would be a dream.

What if true crime dramas, romcoms and suspense thrillers focused on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of media buyers, account teams and agency creative pros?

Quite rightly, no one anywhere has ever wanted to know. And yet, Fox-owned ad-supported streamer Tubi supplies the answer in three short films created with Mischief @ No Fixed Address.

Marketing types are both the stars and target audience in work timed to the Upfronts. Each clip, running under the broader “Call to Action” banner, runs about 5 minutes. They’re packed with enough style to fill a whiteboard and rock a vaguely subversive vibe not unlike that Clio Award-winning Tubi/Mischief Super Bowl spectacle with the big-ass bunnies.

No one dons rabbit costumes this time around. But the imagery and situations are memorably twisted, satirical and at times mildly NSFW. They should resonate with this very specific demographic. (Much as Spotify’s “Song for Every CMO.”)

First, a media pro endures a noir nightmare as he’s trussed up in an alley and interrogated—though maybe that’s not so different than a typical day at the office:

That was kind of scary, but perhaps less soul-sucking than the struggles of a strategist striving to penetrate the Gen Z mindset:

Finally, a cutesy romance that zings our cultural obsession with dating shows and brings all the feels amid nods to improved ROI:

And here’s a series trailer—or perhaps we should stick with the B2B theme and call it an executive summary:

Perhaps the spots drag a tad? Alas, they’re not targeting video editors. Let the buyers enjoy their jargon-soaked tributes before heading back into the dank recesses of the media department to do whatever it is they do.

We chatted with Mischief creative director Hunter Fine about the approach:

MUSE: Why go long form? What’s the strategy?

Hunter Fine: We wanted to serve marketers and attendees of events like the Upfronts original content, opposed to the ads they see every day. The idea was not to create “ads,” but films they can relate to, bringing levity to buyers during a busy season. We hope the takeaway is that Tubi is a place where they can reach a massive audience, due to the wide array of movies and series appealing to multitudes of subcultures and fandoms.

So, it’s BTB advertising with a consumer-style spin?

While B2B marketing can rely heavily on touting the latest ad tech features or metrics, the overarching plan was to do something unconventional and grab the attention of marketing and advertising professionals, keeping Tubi uniquely top of mind as they go into investment strategies. With over 50,000 titles, there’s something for everyone and maybe everything for someone on Tubi. Our strategy was to let the people who place, plan or buy digital media know that Tubi has niche films for every sub-genre of people out there—even them.

Where will they discover the campaign?

We’re running a targeted digital campaign on industry sites, as well as full takeovers. We’re also targeting markets where many advertising professionals work. As people take public transportation to events or the office, our posters and promos will be hard to miss. For example, we have station takeovers and wild out-of-home placements near the Fulton Street subway stop and World Trade Center [in NYC].

Can you talk about making each of the films? Any anecdotes to share?

Under The Impression: This was shot in the Brooklyn Navy Yard at an old fish warehouse. The smell of fish made all the actors feel a little uncomfortable, which you can see in their performances. 

The Gen Z Next Door: We shot this in one day in a house in Ditmas Park [also Brooklyn]. Our actresses were amazing and everything went smoothly, until midnight, when right after shooting the final scene, the haze we added to the background set off the fire alarm and firetrucks showed up, blaring. 

Request for Proposal: The very last shot (without giving too much away) is a real reaction from the girlfriend character. We gave a line that was completely ridiculous to the actor playing the boyfriend role—just to see how the girlfriend would react. And it paid off. The thing he said never made the cut, but her reaction is priceless.

CREDITS

Tubi – Client
Founder & Chief Executive Officer – Farhad Massoudi
Chief Marketing Officer – Nicole Parlapiano
Vice President of Sales Marketing – Cynthia Clevenger
Director, Brand Marketing – Yujin Chi
Director, Media Strategy – Jeff Campbell
Senior Manager, Event Marketing – Erica Oropeza
Coordinator, Marketing Operations – Brittany Helms

Mischief – Agency
CCO and Co-Founder – Greg Hahn
Partner & Executive Creative Director – Bianca Guimaraes
Partner & Executive Creative Director – Kevin Mulroy
Creative Director  – Hunter Fine
Creative Director / Writer – Carl Peterson 
Copywriter – Aubrey Estes
Art Director – Hannah Berling
ACD / Poster Design – João Viégas
EVP, Head of Production – Will Dempster
Partner & Head of Strategy – Jeff McCrory
Group Strategy Director – Ed Gunn
Jr Strategist – Hannah Hugeback
Partner & President – Kerry McKibbin
Managing Director – Tyler Harris
Account Executive – Maddy Vonderhaar
Partner & Head of Development – Oliver McAteer

Greenpoint – Production Company
Founder, Michael Kuhn
Executive Producer, Partner Tatiana Rudzinski
Executive Producer Leah Donnenberg Ramia
Head of Production Karen Berkowitz
Senior Producer Lexy Leeds
Director Ghost & Cow
Director Chelsea Lupkin
Producer Jennifer Carter Campbell
Director of Photography Charlotte Hornsby

With help from Mischief @ No Fixed Address, Tubi—Fox’s ad-supported VOD service—has found a brand persona worthy of the Super Bowl.

“While much of the streaming world still revolves around an obsession with the latest movie or series, we are on a mission to give all people access to all the world’s stories,” says Tubi CMO Nicole Parlapiano. “That means having a deep and diverse library that allows people to dive into their own personal content journey. They can discover anything from Hollywood blockbusters and classics to sub-genres and subcultures that just might lead them down the perfect rabbit hole for them.”

The Big Game blitz introduces not only a brand positioning but a mascot of sorts—in this case a giant bunny. Now, let’s hop down those “Rabbit Holes”…

There’s more Donnie Darko energy to this than Alice in Wonderland—its outset feels comically sinister—but the work arrives at a compromise between the two. The giant rabbit, snatching people out of their lives seemingly at random, ultimately sends them down an endless hole, à la Alice, captivated by all the content that awaits.

“We wanted to take people by surprise by showing how Tubi’s content takes people by surprise,” says Kevin Mulroy, ECD and partner at Mischief. “There’s a lot of joy in finding an immensely deep rabbit hole of shows and movies that quench our niche thirsts. We were inspired by how weirdly enchanting this journey can be.”

According to the agency, every “rabbit hole” Tubi sends you down is unique to the user; your clicks and past views define what comes next. What’s more, “Tubi has a vast library of content that allows viewers to go very deep on specific, interest-based content,” explains Bianca Guimaraes, also an ECD and partner at Mischief.

It’s hard for us to imagine how this differs from, say, Netflix, but we’re open to the possibility that OTTs—which, with their fragmentation and swapping of desirable titles, have become too much like the cable networks we left behind—can still disrupt expectations. If you’ve got a rabbit hole that doesn’t merely leave us drifting helpless from one title to the next, that actually gets us somewhere, we’re happy to tip ourselves over its edge.

You can watch two more Tubi SB ads below. In one, the bunny encounters a gardener. Another, sans rabbit, goes the Big Game “interruption” route with commendable style.