Guess which 30-second Super Bowl commercial was watched the most?
“We get it, GoDaddy.com,” summarized San Francisco Chronicler Peter Hautlaub about the best and worst of football ads, casting the domain registrar among the worst. “You’re controversial. How about trying something new next year?”
Such as what?
Can I one-up Hautlaub with a request to not write about the edited TV spot but the 2:56 director’s cut seen unadulterated at GoDaddy.com and ripped below via an enterprising YouTube user?
It’s controversial and sensationalist, but so is nearly everything else reported on TV and shown during primetime slots.
Seeing the video in the greater context before $3 million TV spots forced the cutting of more than 75% of the original footage, I question whether the response from Glennia Campbell and others for threatening to move domains to other registrars would be equally, if not more, reactive.
When I hear banter from both sides of the political spectrum about female degradation, I muse aloud to myself why the actors didn’t refuse to participate. Maybe because they believed in the commercial? Maybe because they, like me, thought it was effective marketing and provided an outlet for humor? Maybe because they wanted the cash?
The key is marketing. Every newspaper reporter and blogger spinning diatribes about GoDaddy (and it should be disclosed ariwriter.com is registered with the company) is feeding into the viral marketing.
In this sense, the ad was successful.
Glennia has every right to move her domains elsewhere. Heck, she can contact Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions who is tweeting and offering transfer discounts for dissatisfied GoDaddy customers.
As for me, I’ll keep mine where they are, not because of or in spite of the commercial, but I appreciate the GoDaddy customer service for my needs.
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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Why are the acts of a few women an endorsement of an approach? Sometimes people do things we don’t approve of – just because they’re women doesn’t mean that I as a woman have to say “Hey, that’s ok then…” Some women will act in rape porn – and that surely doesn’t make that OK. Some very high profile men beat their wives/cheat on their taxes/tell racist jokes/appear in poor taste ads – I guess that’s ok for ALL men then. Do you see my point?
And I don’t think you can say “oh – the full ad is ok, even if the 30 second spot is a bit dodgy” – because the company paid for and approved the 30 second spot.
I didn’t see the ad. I don’t use the service. But it seems to me that ticking off your (potential) customers is not the way to win business. And as for the viral marketing aspect? – I will probably look elsewhere for domain registration.
Of course you’re right, Ingrid. But the commercial didn’t tick me off. I hadn’t watched it during the original airing; I saw it last night. My first reaction was laughter–which I’m guessing was the company’s hope. Not everyone laughed, though; they got angry. And that’s their right, too.
I too have watched the Godaddy controversy with a mixed feeling. Certainly the fact that some actors were ok to be in the commercial doesn’t speak as representative of the entire group they belong to. That’s a clearly flawed argument. It’s also an iffy premise, from the protesters’ side, to say that Godaddy should automatically be chastised for their insensitivity to a segment of their customer base. If they don’t respond, that’s a different issue and that appears to be where they are at now.
Many companies are struggling with the changes that advertising and marketing is going through. The marketing principle of “well, it worked – it go eyeballs” just isn’t a sufficient standard anymore and that’s the shift I think we are seeing. Being insensitive to that changing climate is where I think Godaddy is truly going astray. They’re acting like they just don’t care. That is not a very smart marketing approach and they are paying for that.
It’s common for social dictates falling out of favor to be defended with “it’s all in fun, I don’t see the prejudice in that”. This has been the mantra of people who aren’t ready to change yet for decades. But change does happen and those people and companies who stay alert and flexible, willing to evolve and change with the time, are going to be the winners. We’ll see in the long haul if that includes Godaddy.
Vicki Flaugher
Vicki Flaugher´s last blog post..Today I Celebrate Freedom
Ari –
I did catch the GoDaddy ad (yes, I actually watched part of the Superbowl — blame my stepson) and it struck me as sending too many signals to be an effective ad, and as you’ve pointed out sends a message that would understandably be offensive or annoying to some women.
However, it didn’t change my position on the company. As you’re already aware, I don’t use GoDaddy because they seem to insist on nickel-and-diming customers for every little feature. I wonder if, added up for a realistic comparison, if their service may actually be as costly as Network Solutions, which I finally abandoned over a year ago because of their exorbitant rates and miserable customer service.
And that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. (Insert raspberry sound here.)
Daniel Brenton´s last blog post..A Home Remedy for Migraines … Really
re:
“The key is marketing. Every newspaper reporter and blogger spinning
diatribes about GoDaddy (and it should be disclosed ariwriter.com is
registered with the company) is feeding into the viral marketing.”
Unless they fed into the marketing of the contra-site YoDaddy.ning.com.
Which few people did. So much for groundswell and all that. I was trying to give people a chance to subvert the message, but, at the end of the day, it wasn’t all that important for folks.
Jon
The danger in using stats of a contra-site to determine a groundswell reaction is that many people don’t become activists when they get hacked off at a company – they simply become non-customers. For every vocal minority activist, potentially hundreds or thousands stand behind them that vote with their dollars rather than speak out at all. The only way to know is to watch Godaddy’s growth and bottom line. Unfortunately, by the time the signs really show up of a business’ decline, it’s often already too late to regain the market share and reputation. Great marketers use leading edge research, social moray shifting, intuition, and extrapolation from other industry trends to help guide them in the treacherous waters of being forward thinking and acting. You can ride the “just throw sex and boobs at it” gravy train until it stops, but when it does, the ride’s over. When you become a caricature, you know you’ve arrive at the end of the line. Godaddy is getting, IMO, very close to that mark. Time will tell.
Vicki Flaugher
Vicki Flaugher´s last blog post..Today I Celebrate Freedom
Vicki– Agreed with your first sentence except your use of the word “danger.” It makes more sense if you use the word “problem” — indeed it was a problem nurturing groundswell because the most ardent activists simply voted with their feet and left the service.
As to whether there were 100’s or 1000’s who dropped out — I can’t say. If a thousand people switched to Namecheap or Network Solutions, they’d certainly trumpet that stat. I haven’t heard much on that front.
Jon
@Jon – Semantics aside, I basically agree with your points. I liken the overall issue to a frog in a pot of cold water with the temperature slowly rising. It’s not drastic or fast enough that the frog jumps out but rather it does not and ends up dinner. That’s the best analogy I can offer to describe what I see happening in marketing today. There is a point of no return and the frog doesn’t know it. My goal is to do all I can to not be that frog.
Vicki
Vicki Flaugher´s last blog post..Today I Celebrate Freedom
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