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State Farm Chooses TikTok Over TV for Super Bowl Ad Campaign

Instead of a commercial with cameos from Drake and Paul Rudd as it did in its Super Bowl commercial last year, the insurance provider is hosting a #TeamStateFarm TikTok challenge for Super Bowl LVI. 

The challenge, which launched two weeks ago, asks users to follow the Jake From State Farm TikTok account and show off their talents with the Duet feature using the #TeamStateFarm hashtag. 

On Super Bowl Sunday, the three best videos will be pinned to the top of the TikTok page so users can vote on their favorite. The winner will be featured in an upcoming State Farm commercial. 

The average cost for a 30-second Super Bowl spot is around $6.5 million, plus the costs associated with production and celebrity talent fees. With nearly 100 million people watching the Super Bowl last year, the price tag is a pretty good deal—except when compared to TikTok.

By the Numbers

78 million → how many Americans use TikTok.

$150,000 → starting cost of a branded hashtag challenge to be promoted on the For You page.

6.7 million → number of views #TeamStateFarm has on TikTok so far.

Our Take

Best-selling author Seth Godin defines marketing as “the art of making something people want to talk about.” The reason that companies are increasingly moving away from TV and towards platforms like TikTok is because they let people engage more readily. Super Bowl ads are too easily ignored or missed, but on TikTok, users are there specifically to talk and interact with what they see.

Creator TV Show Soars on Streaming

Ex-Buzzfeed producer Quinta Brunson recently launched a new sitcom with ABC, Abbott Elementary. 

Brunson started her career at Buzzfeed in 2014, hired shortly after going viral on Instagram for her sketch comedy bits. She created and worked on multiple web series for the brand, including Broke and Up for Adoption. She left in 2018 and has since co-written and starred in shows like HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show. 

Her latest show has been ABC’s first comedy premiere to quadruple ratings, bringing in 7.1 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic since its original airing in December.

Brunson writes, directs, and stars in the show about elementary school teachers in Philadelphia. It’s shot in the style of Parks and Rec and The Office, with an ensemble comedy cast that breaks the fourth wall.

Our Take

Few YouTubers can take on network TV and succeed on its terms. Brunson is bringing a new audience to the sitcom format, and showing how her training in YouTube production—writing, editing, acting—can translate to mainstream entertainment.

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YouTuber Plans to Quit After College 

Comedy creator Anthpo has grown a following of over 3 million subscribers between YouTube and TikTok, documenting the lives of him and his friends since 2018. 

When he started college at Rutgers in 2019, he continued posting 2–3 videos a month. Now in his junior year, he’s planning for what his career will look like after graduation–which may involve leaving the platform.

“For most people, college will set you up with job security, a degree, and networking with people,” Anthpo said. “But I’m in a special circumstance.” Anthpo could invest more in his channel, but he’s yet to make a decision.

The video title at publication reads “Goodbye in 456 days, 12 hours”, and is set to change every hour in a countdown until his graduation. 

Our Take

There's a comment on the video that caught our attention: "If you decide to quit YouTube in the end, I can totally respect that. It's really questionable whether or not YouTube is a sustainable long-term career." One of the most liberating but difficult parts about being a creator is that no one can tell you when to stop. Moving on is nothing to be ashamed of and it's important to be reminded of that.

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