Super Bowl Sex Peaks Internet Traffic

While the game, itself, was good, Super Bowl XXXIX will also be remembered for its prudishness and skittish advertisers, largely the result of a stricter FCC following last year's halftime "wardrobe malfunction." Not surprisingly, new Internet data now show advertisers with the most sexually-nuanced commercials were the top drivers of Internet traffic on Super Bowl Sunday.

According to Hitwise, an online competitive intelligence service, GoDaddy, the most provocative advertiser, led the pack. Its total market share of U.S. Internet visits increased 260 percent on Super Bowl Sunday versus the prior day.

Meanwhile, traffic to the Web site for the male impotence drug Cialis increased 155 percent. Visits to the Tabasco Web site increased 118 percent, driven by an ad featuring a bikini-clad actress.

Whether GoDaddy's ad will sell domain names is another story, as Hitwise clickstream data reveal that 23 percent of visitors to GoDaddy went to company founder Bob Parson's blog. which revealed the story behind the ad as well as why the second showing of the ad was cancelled.

The chart below, from Hitwise, reflects Super Bowl-induced changes in Internet traffic: