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Pause Ad

Play Video

Hulu’s Pause Ad is a non-disruptive, non-intrusive user-initiated ad experience that appears when a viewer presses pause when watching content.

The Pause Ad allows marketers to deliver relevant messaging to consumers at the right time and place — during a natural, user-determined break in the storytelling. It also allows advertisers to create and own a positive, entertaining viewer experience.

Play Video

Timeline

12 business days production lead time from the receipt of the final assets.

Available On:

Deliverables

Static Assets

Brand Logo / Title Treatment

  • PREFERRED: Vector Adobe EPS or Illustrator (AI) files
  • ACCEPTED: High-res layered Photoshop (PSD) or transparent PNG

Supporting Campaign Imagery

  • PREFERRED: Vector Adobe EPS or Illustrator (AI) files
  • ACCEPTED: High-res layered Photoshop (PSD), JPG, or transparent PNG

Fonts (if applicable)

  • OpenType Font (OTF)

Design Deliverables (if Client is Designing)

  • File Format: Transparent PNG
  • Dimensions: 1085 x 770 
  • Please consult the Account Manager for Photoshop (PSD) build file template.

Creative Requirements

No Solid Colored Backgrounds

  • Images should have transparent backgrounds.

No CTAs or Graphic Buttons

  • Users will only be able to access the advertiser’s site through the web disclaimer.

No Colored Text

  • Colored text will not show up well over the gradient. Text should always appear in white.

Observe Template Boundaries

  • Do not place components outside of the template boundaries. An image used in horizontal layout should not bleed into the vertical template area and vice versa.

No Overlapping Components​

  • Components should be spaced out comfortably. None of the pieces should overlap.

No Hulu UI Elements​

  • Do not use Hulu UI elements or layer controls in the design, which may cause confusion in the viewer. Users might see a play icon and think that it’s clickable.

Avoid Using Cropped Images​

  • Images should not have cropped edges or look incomplete.

No Direct Response Messaging​

Includes:
  • Discount codes
  • Financing Terms
  • Pricing
  • CTAs

Creative Recommendations

Use Contextual Brand Messaging​

  • Evaluate how your brand message could function in the pause state.
  • Are you offering something that a viewer might actually do while Hulu is paused?
  • Is there an aspect of “taking a break” or “pausing” in your brand message?
  • Does your brand have a message for the viewer’s location (living room or other room in the house)?

Keep the Text Concise

  • Viewers don’t want to see a big chunk of text on their screen. Make sure the messaging is clear and to the point (nothing more than four to seven words, two lines of text max).

Focus on Relevancy

  • Users will care more about the ad if they understand why they are seeing it. Connecting the ad copy/imagery to the pause events may increase interest.

Design Visual Focal Points

  • Avoid cramming multiple images into the ad creative. Use a single image to draw people’s attention.

Copy

Creative Best Practices

  • Evaluate how brand messaging could function in the pause state.
  • Focus on relevancy.
  • Keep the text concise. Aim to cap at 30 characters or fewer.
  • Hulu will provide copy options if requested.

Text Readability

  • The text should be set in white to ensure readability.
  • Avoid having the messaging run over three lines of text.
  • The style should follow the client’s branding.

Text Legibility

  • Keep in mind that a single asset gets trafficked across all devices. Therefore, the font size has to remain legible even at the smallest supported breakpoint size (1024px).

Heading

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Gradient Color (optional)

Format

  • HEX or RBG Code

Purpose

  • NOTE: Clients can provide HEX values of their brand colors for consideration if they’d like. However, if the brand colors cause the gradient to clash with the creative, they will not be used. The gradient is meant to work as a backdrop to the ad creative and does not need to represent the brand.

Acceptable

  • Black is acceptable but white is not.

Heading

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Ad Unit w/ QR Code

Who Creates?

  • OPTION 1 – Hulu to create the QR Code to be used. Clients will need to provide the URL for the landing page where the ad is driving the viewer. The destination link can be anything from a website, an app, or the app store (to download an advertised app).
  • OPTION 2 – The advertiser to provide their own QR code. This will require they share scan data with Hulu. Additional IO stipulations will have to be in place if the advertiser chooses to provide their own code.

CTAs

  • Calls to action to scan within the creative should be clear and compelling. They should be designed to get the viewer to take action, for example, by offering a deal, promotion, or entertaining destination experience. The CTA should be quick-to-read and be cohesive with the destination URL.

Heading

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Heading

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Third-Party Tracking Tags & File Hosting

Tracking Tags

  • Clients can provide third party 1×1s and click trackers.

File Hosting

  • Files are hosted by Hulu.

Heading

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  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Heading

  • Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
  • Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
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The use of Graphik is acceptable in cases where the Client cannot supply their own typeface.
On living room, mobile, and tablet devices, the color gradient overlay is dynamic and will change based on the cover story art. It is not something we can control on our end.
If the tagline/date messaging doesn’t fit within the 11 syllables max, it can be included as text.
Stress mark should be marked with [capitals] to indicate the primary stressed syllable, as in: news・pa・per [NOOZ-pey-per] in・for・ma・tion [in-fer-MEY-shuhn]
  • No symbols such as registered marks, copyrights, etc.
  • If symbols are required, they will be presented in standard text such as” Brand (TM)”

Q: Why do you prefer PCM codec?

A: PCM codec is lossless audio quality, so whenever possible, please deliver PCM audio.

Q: What does native frame rate mean?

A: Native frame rate refers to the frame rate the source footage was shot. Whenever possible, we require all videos to be delivered in their native frame rate. This means that no frame rate conversion should be performed, which includes adding 3:2 pulldown for broadcast.

Q: Should the bitrate be constant if delivering ProRes codec?

A: No, since ProRes codec is built to be variable, this is waived.

Q: Can you accept bitrate higher than 30 Mbps?

A: Yes, we can accept bitrate beyond the recommended range for H.264 and ProRes. In the case of ProRes, bitrate will often exceed 30 Mbps due to its variable setting.

Q: When is letterboxing allowed and not allowed?

A: When the native aspect ratio is 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 throughout the entire program, there should not be any letterboxing (black bars on top and bottom), nor should there be any pillarboxing (black bars on either side). We should see an active picture take up the full frame. If the aspect ratio is wider than 1.78:1, such as 2.35:1, matting on the top and bottom is permissible. Additionally, if there is a creative choice to add matting or if there is a mix of native aspect ratios, this is usually waived, but please reach out to your Hulu representative to confirm.