AdJab's Chris Thilk and Tom Biro sat in on the GoDaddy press conference which, they report, was held basically to appease media who are clamoring for some big scoop when all that's happening is, as GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons has said all along, is Super Bowl business as usual. GoDaddy, like any other Super Bowl advertiser would (or should) do, is simply trying to get as much buzz as they can prior to the game and insure that buzz lasts long after the game is over as it did last year. Last year's big-boobed strap-slip spot, by the way, worked to the tune of generating $11 million in media value and increasing the company's market share from 16 to 24 percent.
In the call, Parsons riffed about the difficulty his spots receive which he said amounts to a form of censorship emanating almost entirely from one organization, the Parents Television Council. Parsons also said all the hullabaloo is basically pointless. GoDaddy will create whatever it wants and place it on its website for all to see. The Super Bowl spot, again featuring Candice Michelle dressed very much unlike a beekeeper according to Parsons, will simply be a tease for the unedited version. Once again, GoDaddy is maximizing the PR angle to great benefit.
Thilk and Biro plan to hypothesize about what we'll see from GoDaddy in their spot. Since GoDaddy likes to poke at pop culture, perhaps they should take a stab at the celebrity anorexic ugliness trend and, with Candice Michelle, prove once and for curves are, indeed, better than no curves.
As we move closer to advertising's Hall of Fame, Super Bowl XL, the list of advertisers planning to participate in the advertising extravaganza is beginning to build. According to a CNN article, CareerBuilder will be back this year although we don't know if the chimps will be. Gillette will make an appearance of two to promote its new mega-bladed Fusion razor. Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and GM will have several spots in the game. GoDaddy is, reportedly, working with ABC to reach an agreement on just how racy the internet host can be.
Bud Light, perhaps in a nod to what we can expect from them during the Super Bow, has launched Ted Ferguson: Under the Helmet, a website featuring a slice of life look at Ted Ferguson, Bud Light daredevil, an every-man's stunt man. You never know where these things are going to go but, well, this doesn't seem that interesting. That said, it is pretty comical watching the guy treat listening to his girlfriend as an excruciatingly difficult stunt to accomplish. Perhaps this is one of those campaigns that needs to be "given legs" upon which to "blossom."
Yesterday, CareerBuilder.com announced its intent to advertise during the 2006 Super Bowl. It is the first company to make such an announcement. CareerBuilder.com's reports its 2006 marketing strategy will include national outreach and grass roots promotions in local markets. It will include primetime network and cable television, local radio, print, interactive and stadium ads. The campaign will be complemented with advertising support from the more than 130 newspapers, 48 television stations and Web sites of owners Tribune Company, Gannett and Knight Ridder.
And, yes, those chimpanzees will be back.
