GoDaddy has long been known for their raunchy and unadulterated Super Bowl commercials to say the least. Just run a search for previous Godaddy Super Bowl commercials and you’ll see.
But this year, Godaddy did something that even I didn’t expect for GoDaddy to do: make a tasteful, value-add commercial.
Of course the Godaddy spray tan commercial which I personally don’t think people, especially small business owners, will understand that GoDaddy offers domain names, website hosting, and website design and builder services for small businesses.
In my humble opinion, this commercial makes GoDaddy appear to offer a tanning spray service and not a technology business offering domain names, email and web hosting, website design, and SEO services.
That said, I have to give GoDaddy a thumbs up for getting a little closer to their core competency, although they went from scantily clad women to men and women bodybuilders, including a cameo from Danica Patrick. But I digress.
The best GoDaddy commercial, in my opinion, was the one where they allowed Gwen Dean to submit her resignation, the two simple words of “I Quit”, online to her boss with over 100 million people or more watching during the Super Bowl.
Gwen, 36, was planning on quitting her engineering job and unknowingly won the commercial spot to launch her Puppet Show and Puppets business, PuppetsByGwen.com. Gwen’s website is efficiently designed using the GoDaddy Website builder and is super fast despite the surge in website traffic for the Super Bowl commercial visibility.
Hat’s off to GoDaddy for cleverly thinking ahead on how to creatively use their Super Bowl spot not only for their business but to help launch someone else. They could have easily gone down the unadulterated path as they did in previous years.
At first, I wasn’t on board with this type of commercial because I didn’t get the point. However, Ted, Gwen’s boss, personally wished her success and thought the commercial was amazing. Gwen didn’t burn any bridges by leaving her employer in the method she did, which is what I was afraid of for her and GoDaddy as it relates to their branding and image.
After reading Gwen’s back story, I have to give her and GoDaddy kudos for such an innovative commercial. Individuals participating in the commercial contest didn’t know they were being selected for a Super Bowl commercial until they made it to the top 25 and signed a non-disclosure agreement. Gwen was selected from over 100 participants identified as leaving their jobs to start their own business.
The process in which GoDaddy arrived at this commercial is what makes the story so powerful. She as were other participants were happy with their jobs, however, they wanted to pursue their dream of owning their own business. I can definitely relate.
From my own experience of operating multiple websites, finding a web designer to put together a website like Gwen’s can be a daunting task for small business owners.
Then add in the complexity of trying to find the perfect domain, and select the most efficient email and web hosting plan, this can definitely discourage many to not take the leap to start their own business or grow their business with an online presence.
But based on GoDaddy and Gwen’s story, it is now easy to setup domain, website, email and your business using GoDaddy services. I think GoDaddy got it right and built upon their .CO Super Bowl commercial from last year.
I think this type of commercial will do wonders for not only Gwen’s business, but GoDaddy’s core competency awareness in domain names, email and web hosting for small businesses, and for small business and entrepreneurs looking to take the leap in starting a business.
What do you think about the GoDaddy commercial, starring their new spokesperson Gwen?
As a domain investor and business consultant, Alvin actively participates in daily domain auctions. Outside of auctions, he passionately shares his views, opinions, and vision for how businesses should and should not use domain names to generate greater customer growth and revenue.
