By Andrew Sheedy
Throughout the history of Super bowl advertising, it seems that the commercials are going beyond the limit to test comfort zones with our attitude towards perception. Take the GoDaddy commercial from this year’s bowl. They are notorious for having sexy ads year after year, but this year’s was successfully not forgotten, whether it be for a good reason or not. GoDaddy’s campaign entails that their company is smart and sexy. Their commercial approach was to collaborate these two attributes with a gorgeous supermodel and a stereotypical “nerd” seductively kissing. The slogans for the growing web-design company are the “Perfect Match” and “Smart Meets Sexy.” Many were offended for various reasons. not only for degrading women, but for also degrading intelligence. Although this ad could be defended for being humorous, fun, and definitely eye catching, it also implies that the two traits are polar opposites.
1. Many women and even men are tired of chauvinistic geared commercials. some tweets as much as 7,500 hash tagged, “Not Buying it,” a double entendre referring to not supporting the company’s sales and also what they stand for. One tweeter tweeted, “The #super bowl commercials are a window into American culture & values. Today, try to pay attention to what they’re telling you. #notbuyingit.” This hash tag has people thinking. Has our society completely separated beauty and intelligence?
Viewers always love the cute and funny commercials, and they reflect good reviews from them. Normally those type of commercials are from consistent brands like Volkswagen, with 2012’s Darth Vader ad or the classic Budweiser beer ads showcasing their iconic Clydesdale horses. Those companies do well all year around, and the super bowl is just a plus to get new clients and retain their reputation. Companies like Godaddy depend on Super bowl Sunday to amplify sales that determine how they do for their year. After all, 9 years ago when they debuted their premiere commercial is when they became a household name and listed in Forbes magazine.
The initial reactions to this commercial were a lot mixed emotions; some dropped jaws, dry eyeballs, raised eye brows and even agitation, but one thing for sure is that Godaddy is laughing all the way to the bank. The company’s sources reported that Monday after the game was their most profitable sales in the company’s history. Their sale revenue increased forty-five percent the next day, and have accumulated 10,000 new customers.
The attention did bring profits, and Noreen Jenny Laffey, president of Celebrity Endorsement Network, which connects celebrities with marketers, thinks that the stereotypical “nerd” could earn some more jobs due to the successful ratings to this campaign. “Appearing in a successful Super Bowl spot can definitely get an unknowns career rolling.”
Many thoughts have been said, tweeted and posted. Godaddy certainly knows how to get a buzz to circulate through the media while having their company thrive. Who knows, maybe next year they will have Bar Rafali accessorized with braces and glasses while the “nerd” worked his way to having a six pack; that way everyone wins, that is, except for the other football team.