GoDaddy has become known for their annual Super Bowl commercial. Some years, the company has aired two commercials, and other years, the company stuck to one commercial during the Super Bowl. I would attribute much of GoDaddy’s name recognition, especially in the company’s earlier years, to its Super Bowl advertisements.
According to an article in AdWeek, GoDaddy will not be running a Super Bowl commercial this year. In fact, this year will be the first time in 12 years that GoDaddy is not running a Super Bowl commercial. Adweek quotes a GoDaddy representative who said, “It’s done its job to get our name out there. Now, we can move beyond the generic megaphone of a Super Bowl campaign to a more targeted brand of marketing.”
In my opinion, unless a company airs an extremely funny commercial or a commercial that stands out above the rest, it seems like a massive marketing spend on a very limited opportunity. Years ago, GoDaddy ran commercials that some might say were over the top and possibly even offensive. Under the company’s new leadership, GoDaddy has changed its marketing efforts and seem to be more “serious” about business and helping business owners with their domain name and website needs.
Last year, the company canned a controversial Superbowl commercial that was probably for the best. They got a ton of publicity, but not much of it was good. When they aired a replacement commercial during the game, it was just “eh.”
It was always fun seeing a GoDaddy commercial during the Super Bowl because GoDaddy is one of the few companies in the domain space my friends and family recognize. I understand why GoDaddy isn’t running a Super Bowl commercial, but I will miss looking for it during a break in action from the game.