Tubi’s hijacking of the Super Bowl captivated America’s attention during the nation’s biggest sporting event of the year.

With 113 million viewers on the edge of their seats, we drove people across the country to hunt for their remotes in real time. All before realizing it was a stunt from Tubi.

Celebrities tweeted about it, Tik Tok was flooded with reactions, even Snoop Dogg (who had a Super Bowl spot with Skechers) posted on his Instagram about it.

Within 15 seconds, the entire nation was focused on Tubi.

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.

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

In a sea of streaming services constantly looking to one up each other with the next billion-dollar blockbuster, people were largely unfamiliar with Tubi. So much so that they’d Google it to cover their bases. With a limited history of advertising, unfamiliarity became our enemy.

Bad news is that humans are terrible at taking a chance on something new. Good news is that once they feel like something’s familiar, they feel confident exploring.

How we could use the Super Bowl to engage 113M people with our interface to familiarize themselves with Tubi?

We tapped into a familiar experience — the moment your TV channel unexpectedly changes.

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

We leveraged this insight to gain attention at the Super Bowl. A relatable human moment, utilized to make a nation engage with Tubi’s product interface.

There are only a few moments left in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. With a score of 35:35, the stakes have never felt higher.

With millions of Americans on the edge of their seats, an ad break feels like a brief reprieve — but it doesn’t last long. Before you know it, we’re back in the studio with the Fox Broadcasting crew.

As everyone settles back into their seats, listening intently, the TV screen changes to the main menu.

The cursor starts scrolling through your apps, landing on Tubi. Suddenly there’s a click and the app is opened, scrolling through a list of titles. It lands on “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”. With another click, the Tubi logo appears.

Just as Americans start scrambling to find their remotes, the ads continue. That was Tubi’s Interface Interruption. Thousands of titles to choose from, and an interface you won’t forget.

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 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

You’re on the brink of a confession during your favorite murder mystery.

You finally get to see the text that sent shockwaves throughout the reality TV cast.

You won’t break eye contact with the final moments of the series finale.

It doesn’t matter what someone is watching — when the stakes are high, you better not even think about touching the remote.

But somehow, that’s exactly when it happens: The channel changes and panic ensues.

Did the WIFI go out?

Are you sitting on the remote?

Quick, check the dog’s mouth.

Accidentally changing the channel is a global and visceral truth, and during the fourth quarter, we knew it would send the nation into a Tubi-inspired frenzy.

This was the insight we leveraged to gain attention at the Super Bowl. An all too familiar experience, utilized to make a nation engage with Tubi’s product interface.

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.