It’s Upfronts week and it was Fox Corporation’s Tubi’s time to shine as their conference with advertisers showcased a number of new originals, TikTokers, Wattpad adaptations and films.
“Tubi is committed to culturally relevant storytelling that speaks to the cordless generation,” said Adam Lewinson, Tubi’s chief content officer. “From culture-driven pregame coverage for the Big Game, to a fan favorite movie based on a breakout YA novel, to the amazing Lauren Graham headlining a workplace comedy steeped in generational conflict, Tubi’s ’24-’25 slate is as compelling for our audience as it is desirable for advertisers.”
“The Upfront season is one of the most intense times of the year for buyers, so we wanted to offer them a bit of fun and levity with these hyper relevant short films,” said Cynthia Clevenger, Vice President, B2B Marketing, Tubi. “We have the world’s largest free streaming library that has attracted over 64 million monthly active users because of our ability to offer a personalized experience for each and every one of them. We hear from our audience all the time that we make them feel seen, which is the feeling we wanted to bring to the ad community through this campaign.”
Hunter Fine, Creative Director at Mischief, said: “It’s kinda like Inception. We created a highly targeted ad campaign to people who buy and place highly targeted ad campaigns. B2B marketing can rely heavily on touting the latest ad tech features or metrics. But we took a different approach, aiming to entertain with these provocative short films. It’s true to Tubi’s unconventional style—which you’ll know all about if you saw the mischief they made at this year’s Super Bowl.”
The Call to Action: A Film Series for Marketers
Dubbed The Call to Action: A Film Series for Marketers, the campaign includes three satirical 5-minute-long films that span genres from romance to true crime and feature storylines that blur both the personal and professional lives of media buyers, account teams and creatives alike. Tubi worked with Mischief @ No Fixed Address, its agency of record and the team behind its Super Bowl spots, to bring the campaign to life.
The short films, which will live on Tubi’s platform and on YouTube, include:
- The Gen Z Next Door (Mystery) – Tasked with researching the Gen Z audience persona, Anna, a media strategist, takes a step into the unknown as she tries to understand her younger neighbor.
- Under the Impression (True Crime) – A mild-mannered media buyer is put in the hot seat and interrogated by his higher ups when the wrong creative is trafficked.
- Request for Proposal (Romantic Comedy) – A media buyer and her graphic designer best friend come up with an ad campaign targeting her boyfriend in hopes it will convince him to propose.
The QB Bad Boy & Me
The QB Bad Boy & Me is based on a breakout Wattpad novel by Tay Marley. The young adult film stars Beck in his feature debut as secretly grieving football star Drayton, with Siena Agudong as the headstrong dancer Dallas, who has aspirations of getting into the best dance school in the country. The official logline asks, “Will the two of them be able to grow into their dreams together or will their dreams be sidelined?”
The QB Bad Boy & Me will premiere within the next year.
The Z-Suite
The Z-Suite a comedy series starring, and executive produced by Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood). The multi-generational workplace comedy, from writer, executive producer and showrunner Katie O’Brien (The Santa Clauses, Teachers), is AVOD service’s first homegrown live-action original series.
This workplace comedy is set at a boutique New York ad agency where generational divides see the established C-Suite and rising Gen Z employees collide. After a company decision spirals out of control, the agency’s reigning executives are pushed out and the Z-Suite employees are suddenly put in charge, ultimately testing both generations’ skills and patience.
Graham plays Monica Frazier, an advertising agency mogul who is fired as CEO and finds herself clawing her way back into the company she helped build.
This is the platform’s first TV green light in the live-action space.
The previously announced comedy “The Z-Suite” officially drops in 2025 with star Graham. Its official logline reads:
“When I first read the script for ‘The Z-Suite’ I responded to Katie O’Brien’s fresh and funny take on the workplace,” Lauren Graham said. “The character of Monica is smart, strong, and appealingly a bit unhinged. I’m excited to work with the team at Tubi as they ramp up their Originals slate and continue their ascent in the streaming space.”
Superbowl – Tubi’s Purple Carpet
Tubi will also provide extensive coverage for next year’s Fox-led Super Bowl. Tubi’s Purple Carpet will feature pregame coverage hosted by model and actress Olivia Culpo. Culpo’s coverage will celebrate the event “by blending the excitement of the Super Bowl with the allure of fashion and celebrity.”
Tubi, Fox Corporation’s ad-supported video-on-demand service, has over 50,000 movies and TV shows, including a growing library of Tubi Originals, 200+ local and live news and sports channels, and 455 entertainment partners, featuring content from every major Hollywood studio. Tubi gives fans of film, television, news and sports an easy way to discover new content that is completely free.
Tubi is available on Android and iOS mobile devices, Amazon Echo Show, Google Nest Hub Max, Comcast Xfinity X1, Cox Contour, and on connected television devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Vizio TVs, Sony TVs, Samsung TVs, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and soon on Hisense TVs globally. Consumers can also watch Tubi content on the web at www.tubi.tv
