Covid hit right before multiple major sporting events in the United States were scheduled to take place. This commercial sarcastically comments on the fact that athletes have to be at home too and can't make commercials like they normally would. The objective is to let viewers know that Hulu still has live sports and the same sense of humor about it.

The campaign evolved organically after seeing fans' reactions to the first spots from 2019. With the commercial shooting limitations imposed by the coronavirus, when used for legit purposes with the subjects' approval, it seems like a smart solution.

The new spot is the latest in Hulu's "Sellouts" campaign in which celebrity endorsers have fully copped to the fact that they're getting paid to shill for the brand. To own up to Deepfake remains in line with the brand's overall theme of "radical transparency" so we felt comfortable that both spots would be seen as authentic and innovative

Outside of the spot's location shoots, the production also involved two-hour shooting sessions over Zoom with the athletes themselves during which they used their smartphone cameras to shoot their own faces at various angles to capture that image data that would be superimposed on the body doubles.

According to Tribbo VFX producer Pamella Pesareli, one of the biggest challenges in incorporating the location and VFX shoots was lighting.

At the time, COVID had placed limitations on the brand's ability to shoot with the sports stars, so to create the ad, the brand at the time stated that it had shot body doubles and superimposed the athletes' faces onto them using "digital face replacement technology.

Ultimately, the project helped to broaden the path for production solutions in the time of COVID while taking the campaign into fresh terrain.

Technology has enabled us to be more flexible, creative and relatable. By leaning heavily on technology in our two latest spots, we were able to develop creative quickly, work with athletes in an unbelievably personal way and extend the conversation beyond traditional media methods to social media."