PTC Says Hulu Advertisers Must be Wise About Brand Alignment

LOS ANGELES (March 4, 2021) – The Parents Television Council is calling on advertisers of Disney-owned Hulu to ensure their corporate values are represented by the programming their ad dollars are supporting. Bloomberg News has reported that advertising on Disney-owned online outlets such as Hulu will soon exceed those of Disney-owned broadcast network ABC.

“Given Hulu’s slate of graphic content – some of which even depicts children engaged in sexually-explicit situations – advertisers on Hulu need to ensure that they are aligning their brands with content that reflects their corporate values. Those programs on Hulu that do not align with their corporate brand should never be a part of their ad buys – and this is even more important given streaming media’s growing influence,” said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council.

“Hulu’s A Teacher normalizes an illicit relationship between a teacher and her student. Hulu’s PEN15 is a suggestively titled ‘teen comedy’ that included a scene of an adolescent girl masturbating in front of a mirror. Hulu also features Harlots, a period drama about a London brothel. Two more questionable series in development for Hulu include Bitches and Punk Ass Bitch. All of these programs are brought to us via the once-family-friendly Walt Disney Company.

“Corporate advertisers have learned how important it is not to associate their goods and services with television programming that runs afoul of their corporate brand. As media dollars pour away from television into streaming platforms like Hulu, and as programmatic media buying gains traction, advertisers must be even more vigilant when it comes to the programming with which they choose to associate. Programs that feature children engaged in sexually-explicit or dangerous situations must be on their ‘Do Not Buy’ list,” Winter said.