ALF, the furry, cat-eating alien from late 1980s television, is making a comeback.
The series will appear on Maximum Effort Channel, a joint venture between Fubo and Ryan Reynolds’s Maximum Effort marketing company.
ALF creator Paul Fusco and Shout Studios have also worked with the channel to create a series of “Maximum Moments,” which are branded content segments featuring ALF for advertisers Mint Mobile, Fubo, Hims, MNTN and Ring.
The series and the branded content start running Saturday.
“At Maximum Effort, we love taking risks and blurring the lines between shows and sponsorship because we believe both can be equally entertaining,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Besides my irrational love of ALF growing up, one of the reasons we licensed this show was precisely because Paul, Shout! Studios and our intrepid brand partners wanted to plot with us to bring ALF back to life. Tune in this Caturday!”
In addition to the Maximum Moments branded content segments, the channel also features “whisper content breaks,” branded-content messages made with the sound turned low at night when people are trying to sleep.
“Connecting the brand in a meaningful way to content is advertising’s holy grail,” said Mint Mobile chief marketing officer Aron North. “The Maximum Effort team has intimate knowledge of the Mint Mobile brand, our positioning, and our business objectives. Their ability to thread the needle of creativity, content and commerce leads to high-quality, commercially viable advertising. Inserting actors from the content the viewer is enjoying is the next phase of breakthrough creative. We are very excited to share ALF’s thoughts on affordable, premium wireless service.”
“At Hims, we want feeling great through the power of better health to be easy and accessible for everyone — even adorable alien life forms,” Hims & Hers co-founder and senior VP of brand and innovation, Hilary Coles said. “We are thrilled to partner with the storytelling legends at Maximum Effort, and grateful to our favorite intergalactic visitor ALF for breaking through stigmas and sharing the secret to his iconic mane.”
Maximum Effort Channel is available to watch on Fubo as well as Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Plex, Sling Freestream, Tubi, VIDAA, Vizio WatchFree Plus and Xumo Play.
“From our whisper content breaks and now with ‘Maximum Moments,’ the Maximum Effort Channel has quickly redefined how brands can sponsor content,” said Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler. “We were so fortunate to bring ALF back with Paul Fusco reprising his iconic role, and thrilled he could star in a spot for Fubo. The ALF ‘Maximum Moments’ are just one example of how brands can seamlessly integrate with our original shows and much-loved nostalgic entertainment to engage viewers in a way they can’t on any other linear channel.”
