The Power of Voice in a Sea of Sameness
In 2023, during Super Bowl LVII, Americans panicked as their TVs pulled them away from the game and into Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Tubi. It was, of course, the now-infamous Tubi Interface Interruption commercial that had families yelling at each other, accusations (and drinks) flying, and the entire internet shouting about Tubi.
When the people gutsy enough to pull a fast one on American football fans during their sporting event of the year came calling for a disruptive new brand, the brief was clear: they wanted to do things differently. When Tubi told us they wanted a voice-first identity to help them combat stale streaming standards, it was music to our ears.
Working with Tubi’s brand strategy team was pure magic. They helped us capture their personality and distill it into a voice anyone at Tubi could replicate.
This isn’t something for everyone.
Streaming’s biggest players tend to sit back and let their content do the talking and, at a brand level, it means they’ve become vessels for IP. As a copywriter, that’s one of the least-inspiring briefs out there, but it is logical. If you want to be something for everyone, you have to be careful not to alienate anyone. In other words, if universality is your aim, there just isn’t much room for opinion. Right?
Wrong. Having a point of view is a fundamental part of connecting with people. When brands try to stand for everything, they end up standing for nothing. When that happens in streaming, it’s compounded by similar offerings. Tubi were the first to admit they couldn’t stand out based on library alone; they have popular, they have niche, they have original, they have classic (and they have more of all of it than anyone else), but without the glossy, blockbuster originals of the major streamers, it wasn’t enough to differentiate them.
That’s where taste came in.
Universally individual
To create a brand that was the antithesis of monoculture, we leaned into personal preference. Taste isn’t good or bad, it’s subjective–individuality at its finest. Embracing the gamut of human taste meant the verbal identity could be both unique and relatable; by being themselves, Tubi could empower people to like what they like.
How practical is personality?
A big question with such a character-packed tone of voice is always how it will change when stakeholders are in the room. Our answer was simple: it shouldn’t. Tubi’s charm lies in their ability to be themselves in front of all audiences. We approached volume control with a promise to be professional, not corporate, and the belief that it should always be a pleasure doing business with Tubi.
Their ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, drum up excitement and hold people’s attention are probably the most recognizable parts of Tubi’s voice, but they were only half the story. Bringing clarity to every part of the Tubi experience was just as imperative as bottling their charisma, and it’s their ability to say things plainly and simply that underpins the brand’s humanity and lets the other pillars of their personality shine.
Eva Munday is the senior copywriter at DixonBaxi, a global brand agency using creativity to design a better future.
The Power of Voice in a Sea of Sameness
In 2023, during Super Bowl LVII, Americans panicked as their TVs pulled them away from the game and into Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Tubi. It was, of course, the now-infamous Tubi Interface Interruption commercial that had families yelling at each other, accusations (and drinks) flying, and the entire internet shouting about Tubi.
When the people gutsy enough to pull a fast one on American football fans during their sporting event of the year came calling for a disruptive new brand, the brief was clear: they wanted to do things differently. When Tubi told us they wanted a voice-first identity to help them combat stale streaming standards, it was music to our ears.
Working with Tubi’s brand strategy team was pure magic. They helped us capture their personality and distill it into a voice anyone at Tubi could replicate.
This isn’t something for everyone.
Streaming’s biggest players tend to sit back and let their content do the talking and, at a brand level, it means they’ve become vessels for IP. As a copywriter, that’s one of the least-inspiring briefs out there, but it is logical. If you want to be something for everyone, you have to be careful not to alienate anyone. In other words, if universality is your aim, there just isn’t much room for opinion. Right?
Wrong. Having a point of view is a fundamental part of connecting with people. When brands try to stand for everything, they end up standing for nothing. When that happens in streaming, it’s compounded by similar offerings. Tubi were the first to admit they couldn’t stand out based on library alone; they have popular, they have niche, they have original, they have classic (and they have more of all of it than anyone else), but without the glossy, blockbuster originals of the major streamers, it wasn’t enough to differentiate them.
That’s where taste came in.
Universally individual
To create a brand that was the antithesis of monoculture, we leaned into personal preference. Taste isn’t good or bad, it’s subjective–individuality at its finest. Embracing the gamut of human taste meant the verbal identity could be both unique and relatable; by being themselves, Tubi could empower people to like what they like.
How practical is personality?
A big question with such a character-packed tone of voice is always how it will change when stakeholders are in the room. Our answer was simple: it shouldn’t. Tubi’s charm lies in their ability to be themselves in front of all audiences. We approached volume control with a promise to be professional, not corporate, and the belief that it should always be a pleasure doing business with Tubi.
Their ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist, drum up excitement and hold people’s attention are probably the most recognizable parts of Tubi’s voice, but they were only half the story. Bringing clarity to every part of the Tubi experience was just as imperative as bottling their charisma, and it’s their ability to say things plainly and simply that underpins the brand’s humanity and lets the other pillars of their personality shine.
Eva Munday is the senior copywriter at DixonBaxi, a global brand agency using creativity to design a better future.
Further Reading
