Ever since Candice Michelle "testified" in GoDaddy's infamous 2005 Super Bowl®
video, the domain giant has been making waves on Network TV.
In preparation for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Super Bowls, GoDaddy was forced to edit
its proposed commercials over and over before finally winning approval from network
sponsors. Things took a surprise turn in 2009, with GoDaddy earning network approval
an amazing 18 days before the big game.
True to form, the company mixed it up by purchasing an advertising slot for a second
GoDaddy commercial featuring IndyCar® Series Star Danica Patrick, at the last
minute. "Baseball" aired in the two-minute warning break during the 4th quarter.
The ad, a spoof of pro baseball's steroids controversy was panned by AdWeek critic
Barb Lippert. The spot wasn't even mentioned in the post-game reviews of the country's
biggest newspapers.
But "Baseball" was clearly a home run as far as viewers were concerned. In fact,
the commercial was viewed more times than any other 2009 Super Bowl commercial,
according to TiVo, Inc.1 "Shower," which also featured Patrick (this
time in a towel) aired earlier in the game. Both ads invited viewers to
www.GoDaddy.com to continue watching.
Thanks to the two spots, the ICANN-accredited domain registrar received 110% more
orders on Super Bowl Sunday 2009 than it did during the big game in 2008.
GoDaddy CEO and founder Bob Parsons wasn't surprised with the overwhelming response.
Over the years, he's used racy commercials to his company's advantage time and again.
GoDaddy's new market share hit 32 percent after the 2006 game, 42 percent after
the 2007 game, 45 percent in 2008 and 50 percent in 2009.
The original GoDaddy Girls® have now been joined by Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa
Rousso and LPGA Golfer Anna Rawson. Rousso appears with Michelle and Patrick in
"One More Thing," a GoDaddy commercial that ran during the National Heads-up Poker
Championship in April 2009.
Two other videos feature popular NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.® and fellow
teammate Brad Keselowski. In one, Dale, Jr.™ proves he's faster than Brad
by beating Brad to all the script cues. Videos featuring Landon Cassill, up-and-coming
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, can also be viewed via the GoDaddy Web site.
Like Michelle, Patrick, Rousso and Rawson, the NASCAR drivers are official spokespeople
for GoDaddy.
1Determination made based on an aggregated, anonymous, second-by-second
audience measurement about how TiVo subscribers watched the broadcast.
