Vibe’s Arthur Querou gets advertising — not just for clients, but for Vibe, too.
Recently, Vibe went viral on X and LinkedIn after riffing on the much-discussed (and very controversial) Sydney Sweeney “genes/jeans” ad for American Eagle. It was sharp and refreshing in that it wasn’t the same tired B2B tech playbook.
Now, the company is back with another stunt: a billboard in San Francisco featuring Marc Andreessen’s unmistakable conehead silhouette — but not his face — paired with the line: “Target Marc on TV.” You can see the ad circulating widely on X, where even usually skeptical reporters seem to be enjoying it.
Dare we say it? This one might be even smarter than the Sydney Sweeney moment.
Why This Matters:
Vibe is carving out a different lane from other “performance TV” or outcomes-focused CTV players chasing enterprise and midmarket buyers — think MNTN and tvScientific (or Pinterest, I guess, now?).
In an increasingly crowded CTV market, Vibe is differentiating itself not through spec sheets or white papers, but through memorable, culture-aware marketing. Between the Sydney Sweeney parody, the Marc Andreessen billboard (and yes, shout-out to OUTFRONT for selling the inventory), and campaigns with TBPN, the company is actively building a brand people actually want to talk about.
If there is a case study in willing yourself out of adtech marketing purgatory (RARE), Vibe is starting to look like one. (They also raised $50 million last year, so, yeah, they’re having fun.)
Experts React:
Here are some of the best posts on X about the campaign:
Our Take:
Adtech is famously self-serious — and often painfully boring marketing-wise (sorry, but it has to be said!). So when companies take creative risks and show a sense of humor, it’s refreshing.
Vibe isn’t alone here. Recently, DSP Viant dropped a diss-track-style rap aimed at The Trade Desk and its CEO Jeff Green, named after Viant’s CES launch, Lattice Brain. Meanwhile, Yahoo DSP showed up to CES with actually cool swag — including hoodies and a Flavor Flav-style clock as a nod to Public Enemy’s performance at its party.
This is good stuff. More of this, please.
