Since finally ditching cable I have started to notice something a little more closely on Hulu: PSAs.  Public service announcements… how can the evil aliens at Hulu (Fox, NBC, ABC, Disney et al) allow this to happen?  There has to be some way this affects their bottom lines…

Hulu randomly asks its users to fill out a quick survey in exchange for 250 views for their choice of 5 different charities.  Simple and somewhat elegant…. which describes the majority of Hulu’s pre-subscription, Boxee-Blocking, Stay the hell off of my mobile phones business actions.  My only complaint… and the complaint of others on the internet… the choices aren’t that impressive….  Kiva, Michael J. Fox, Donors Choose, and two others I can’t remember… Maybe I’m just being selfish, but where’s cancer? Or Heart Disease? Or Even Diabetes?  These are things I have given money to personally but more importantly affect people in my close family.

The questions… well with my fancy marketing degree I could tell the 15 question survey was just curious how you thought Ford, Chevy, Toyota, and Hyundai stack up in quality… Since Ford doesn’t care, and Toyota has books written about them… Its most likely sponsored by Chevy… who has been trying to compare with Toyota on quality and MPG, and has even seen Toyota fire back…  Hyundai?  If it was there survey the 4 choices would most likely have been different.

All in all, a great spin on marketing surveys… Normally win $10, get a coupon, or donate $1 to a charity would not be enough to entire me.  But getting to show the ad to 250 people is much more significant (although it may only raise that same $1)…

And in case you’re wondering…. I gave my ad time to Michael…. for the lulz.