Is Roku the best thing since the invention of the wheel? Maybe not. Though, while it has not changed the way we move hay, it definitely set an early standard for how we get content from the internet on to our TV’s. While some very early adopters began designing computers to hook up to TV’s and HDMI ports made it even easier, Roku was the first company to just say “Here is an easy way to do it”.
That is what the new “OK, Roku does that.” add looks to convey. The spot shows multiple innovations from the literal invention of the wheel to the little cardboard coffee holders that make paper coffee cups possible.
“At Roku, it’s simple: we love TV. We have believed since our founding in 2002 that all TV will be streamed, and we have been leaders in the space ever since,” said Mustafa Ozgen, GM of Account Acquisition at Roku. “Our campaign, ‘Ok, Roku does that.’ is based on our drive to make TV streaming easy, accessible, and affordable. As both Roku and TV streaming have grown, we have added more content like news and sports, we’ve launched new products like Roku Streambar models and worked with TV brand partners to launch Roku TV models, and we’ve built new features like private listening and the lost remote finder. All of this together creates a great TV experience. We make it easy, and that’s why we’re proud to be number one.”
The push is sort of antithetical to the vast majority of tech companies that push the latest greatest innovation as though it changes the world as we know it. “You can ask your TV to tell you what time it is” WOW WOW WOW! You can watch your neighbors’ house from Hawaii via the new network-connected camera in your mailbox (Mic drop). Roku is going for a very different aesthetic in its outreach. Instead of talking about bits and bites, or building in features that 1% of users will even investigate it is accentuating simplicity, which is what has built its popularity over time. And while it is not as flashy as the Windows 95 Start Me Up campaign it might hit the right chord with the market that wants to watch TV instead of having their TV watching them.
