1-800 numbers were big business back in the ’80s. Tubi has brought back that nostalgic tickle of touching numbers as you dial into its new TubiFone hotline. It will choose a horror movie for you to stream this Halloween season.
That’s right. Tubi is finally taking the guesswork and chore out of selecting your next watch with its 1-833-605-TUBI (8824) phone number that allows you to pick a “feeling” before a selection of horror movie options are presented for your potential viewing pleasure.
I saw Tubi daring me to dial, so I did. And TubiFone instantly reminded me of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer’s new phone number is just one digit off from Moviefone, and he begins giving out showtime information to all the wrong callers.
The first time I called TubiFone, I was met by an ominous voice straight out of a late-night double-feature picture show. The man offered me the following message:
“Sorry, the number you’ve dialed is currently haunted. To break the spell, choose your spooky season feeling. And get free picks on Tubi.”
This was followed by several horror genres and sub-genres. For 1, I was asked to pick “Appalled,” for 2 “Wicked,” for 3 “Romantic,” for 4 “Dread,” for 5 “Panic,” for 6 “Alienated,” for 7 “Possessed,” for 8 “Paranoid” and for 9 “Stunned.” I went with stunned and wound up with a handful of recommendations that included The Call of Cthulhu, The Whisperer in Darkness, The Void, and The Endless. I’m sure one of those is worth watching tonight. Right? Tubi, don’t steer my Saturday night in the wrong direction, please. I only get one a week.
The second time I called, I got a completely different greeting and a different set of options.
“Welcome to TubiFone. Tell me what you are feeling. Or want to feel, And I’ll find it.”
This time the genre feelings included 1 for “Adventurous,” 2 for “Avengeful,” 3 for “Terrified,” 4 for “Passionate,” 5 for “Nostalgic,” 6 for “Romantic,” 7 for “Chill,” 8 for “Amusing,” and 9 for “Exciting.”
I’ll often get stuck browsing through the movie queue for hours, unable to pick out a worthy flick for the night. This hotline is going to help my streaming game immensely. So far I haven’t seen a single one of the recommended titles, and I have seen plenty of movies.
TubiFone actually launched back on September 10th, my birthday to be exact. Now, it is donning the Halloween costume of a horror hotline for random spooky movies. Tubi unveiled “Find Any Feeling For Free” as its first-ever global brand campaign, building it around a simple truth: “How we want to feel drives what we want to watch.” With the largest free content library in streaming, Tubi gives viewers the freedom to go wherever that feeling takes them.
“In the U.S., the campaign came to life through TubiFone, a decidedly Tubi spin on the old-school movie hotline. By dialing 1-833-605-TUBI, callers can choose a feeling they’re chasing, from adventurous to vengeful, sentimental to romantic, and hear recommendations for movies and series on Tubi that match their mood. In an age of endless scrolling and searching, TubiFone offers a refreshingly human answer to the perennial question: What should I watch?”
So what are you waiting for? It’s movie binge night. You’ve got your microwavable pork rinds and a ½-eaten DQ Blizzard waiting in the fridge. Hustle up TubiFone and see what it’s picking out for you tonight. I’ll see you at the tail end of Endless Love. Wait, what? Oh, Tubi.
