Hulu tries to balance its fun, quirky brand persona with a ton of actual product mentions in this big new brand spot from twofifteenmccann, which broke Sunday night as a :60 on TV and is running online as an :81.
Tom Kuntz of MJZ directed the commercial, and it certainly emulates the style that he helped make famous in his Old Spice work—that of the fast-talking pitchman who uses witty one-liners to guide the viewer through a comically surreal, prop-laden world. (The spokesman's hallway roaming here is particularly reminiscent of early Dollar Shave Club.)
Adding to that already hectic style, this spot throws in a few celebrity cameos, too: Mindy Kaling, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Taraji P. Henson. The result is quite energetic, and fairly informative about Hulu's offerings—but just not as entertaining as it wants to be.
The pitchman isn't charming enough, or maybe the gags aren't amusing enough. Either way, the spot feels like it's trying too hard to be freewheeling and fun, and instead comes off as calculated and staged.
The new consumer brand campaign emphasizes that Hulu is all about redefining TV and that consumers deserve an experience in which TV loves you back. The new tagline is: "Come TV with us."
But for inspired Hulu lunacy, we'll take Alec Baldwin's alien spot any day.
CREDITS
Client: Hulu
Agency: twofifteenmccann
Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon
Art Director/ACD: Sharon Chow-Kaye
Copywriter: Mat Bunnell
Director of Integrated Production: Alex Spahr
Senior Producer: Brandon Romer
Producer: Sarah Sweeney
Business Affairs: Mary Beth Barney
Account team: Charlie Byron, Julie Sinclair, Bhumieka Patel
Strategy team: Gabrielle Tenaglia, Paige Robertson
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Tom Kuntz
DP: Hoyte Van Hoytema
Line Producer: Stephanie Bruni
Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins
Editorial: Final Cut
Editor: Rick Russell
Editor: Crispin Struthers
Assistant Editor: EmaLee Arroyo
Head of Production: Suzy Ramirez
Executive Producer: Eric McCasline
VFX: The Mill
Sr. Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Deputy Head of Production: Dan Roberts
VFX Supervisor and Executive Creative Director: Phil Crowe
Production Coordinator: Jackson Rogers
Lead 2D: Andy Dill
2D Artists: Jale Parsons, Gareth Parr, Tara Demarco John Price, Rob Winfield, Lisa Ryan, Daniel Lang, Jason Bergman.
Matte Painter: Michael Aceves
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Company: Company 3
Music: Human
Sound Mixing: Lime Studios
