The Super Bowl is, well, the Super Bowl of advertising.

Extreme budgets. Special effects. Countless celebrity cameos.

They say you have to go big or go home. But what if you keep it simple and take it home?

That’s exactly what we accomplished with Tubi’s Interface Interruption.

We turned a simple, relatable human experience into a nationwide stunt — the channel unexpectedly changing. In a mere 15 seconds, we evoked a visceral response among millions of Americans that later turned into social media virality.

During the biggest sporting event of the year, our creativity proved that simplicity can win. Big.

Our desired audience was unfamiliar with Tubi and questioned the relevancy of our service. The third most searched Tubi item was “Is Tubi legit.”

As an AVOD, this was an especially tricky issue. With zero subscriptions, they rely on exposing viewers to a variety of ad types on the platform.

Without new viewers, Tubi’s revenue and growth was capped. We needed to legitimize Tubi in a way that would lessen trepidation when directed to the platform — and Super Bowl was our time to strike.

The brief was to make Tubi unignorable at the Super Bowl.

Make Tubi famous, measured by impressions and a stretch goal of trending on Twitter.

Drive viewership, measured by increase of users vs. previous year.

Grow interest with media buyers measured by increase in media traffic post spot.

By catching 113M viewers off guard, Interface Interruption wasn’t just another ad —it became a cultural moment.

With the score at 35:35 and only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, millions of Americans were on the edge of their seats.

There’s an ad break, but luckily, it’s quick. Before you know it, they’re back in the studio with the FOX Broadcasting crew. Millions of eyes are glued to the screen. Ears listening intently to every word.

Without warning, the TVs main menu is pulled up on the screen. As the cursor scrolls, it lands on Tubi.

With another mystery click, the app is opened, scrolling through a list of titles. It lands on “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”. With another click, the Tubi logo appears. Surprise. Confusion.

Just as Americans start scrambling to find their remotes, the ads continue. As if nothing happened.

That was Tubi’s Interface Interruption.

Thousands of titles to choose from, and an interface Americans won’t forget.

Tubi has content for everyone, but compared to other streaming services, our demographic skewed older than our competitors. Which makes sense when Columbo is our most streamed show.

We needed to engage with Gen-Z and Millennials to turn skepticism into familiarity. We knew we had the content they’d love, and media buyers would flock for their attention, but the lack of familiarity with our name made people question if the proposition was too good to be true.

By familiarizing Americans with our interface, we could encourage confidence in our streaming service.

We utilized a universal fear during any high stakes viewing experience — someone unexpectedly changing the channel.

Who’s sitting on the remote? Did the baby grab it? Is it in the dog’s mouth? Frenzy ensues.

We leveraged this insight and used the Super Bowl as our conduit to gain attention and familiarity.

We only had 15 seconds to steal America’s attention.

It had to be big. Quick. Bold.

As if that wasn’t tricky enough, our spot was scheduled to air during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. A high-risk moment to show up. A tight game with only a few minutes left would ensure millions of eyeballs. But a major blowout could just as easily end the night early.

With so many factors out of our control, we utilized what we could control. On gameday, we knew who would be commentating, the studio setup and the stadium location — so we copied the formula. Using cliche sports language to pull viewers in, we tricked millions into thinking we were back from a commercial break.

With a simple rebuild of a standard Smart TV, we reflected exactly what any user would see as they navigate through the various titles on Tubi.

In 15 seconds, Tubi became the most talked about brand at the Super Bowl garnering:

6.8 billion impressions

2,000+ articles

4.2+ million video views

1196% increase in social conversation

Google searches hit an all-time high

In the biggest game of the year, Tubi became #4 trending topic on Twitter behind only Rihanna and the two teams playing.

In the month following, Tubi recorded their most viewing hours and unique viewers in the brand's history. They, for the first time, broke into the top 10 on Neilsen’s rankings, with a 1% share of total US television viewership in February, equalling rival Peacock and passing key competitor Pluto TV to become the 6th most watched streaming service.

We also drove conversion: “Advertisers are thinking of us in a new creative light, and media buyers are telling us we made their jobs easier.” – Mark Rotblat, Chief Revenue Officer at Tubi

In America, the Super Bowl is the pinnacle of sports.

Why, you ask? A simplified answer would be that it’s the biggest sporting event of the year. Millions tune in to watch America’s favorite sport.

Sorry baseball.

The richer, more enticing explanation is that millions of people gather year after year to engage in culture. The food. The halftime show. The “could you believe that call?” at the office the next day. There are millions of moments that can steal the spotlight.

So as an ad, breaking through to become one of the most talked about moments of the entire Super Bowl feels as big as winning the game itself.

Sorry Super Bowl. It was a high risk, high reward media placement. With the clock winding down during the biggest neck and neck game of the year, Interface Interruption stole the show.