Ads Review - YouTube TV + NBA (How Unexpected Talent Makes An Ad More Interesting And Inclusive)

YouTube TV has been running an ad during the NBA Finals, featuring an old lady obsessing over the NBA Finals, even while her family throws her a birthday party. This is an unexpected choice of talent. Why would YouTube do this? The numbers don’t lie: the people who watch the NBA the most are males in their mid-30s. 

Here’s why: It makes the ad more interesting and inclusive.

The mid-30s dad ignoring his daughter’s dance recital because he’s watching a game on his phone is played out. We’ve seen it a dozen times, and it’s honestly a little triggering. But the grandma ignoring her family at her own birthday party? That’s unexpected and funny. Half the battle of getting viewers to watch your ad instead of pulling out their phones during the break is being unexpected. 

While the demographics clearly lean toward mid-30s male viewership, there certainly are women in their 70s who love watching the NBA. There’s a “chicken-or-the-egg” conundrum when it comes to advertising. Do advertisers feature their main demographics, or do advertiser’s demographics skew to match their advertising? The general sentiment among brands and advertisers over the past few years is that representation is important, as it creates a richer culture and brings opportunities to previously marginalized people groups. 

YouTube TV shows us that featuring an unexpected minority in your ad isn’t just a good thing to do for our culture–it can also help you create a better ad. 

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