It went by everybody like a train in the night. Nobody got it. Not even the industry pundits. Barbara Lippert didn’t get it. Stuart Elliott didn’t get it. Jay-Z didn’t get it. No one got it. I’m talking about the punch line in our Super Bowl commercial: “Everybody wants to work in marketing!”

What everybody missed.
“Everybody wants to work in marketing.” That’s what the spokesman said after he closed the door to our fictional, out-of-control marketing department. It was a double entendre. In one sense he meant that the marketing department certainly is a fun place to work. But in another sense, he was talking to all those self-appointed “marketing experts” who year-after-year go out of their way to tell Go Daddy how to sell its products.

I’m very happy with this year’s results.
The results from this year’s Super Bowl ad are now clear. It seems we have quite a bit to smile about.

What the critics had to say.
As is always the case, GoDaddy’s 2007 Super Bowl ad is the whipping boy of advertising critics and marketing experts everywhere. Here are some comments:

GoDaddy gets the Goofus. The ad was bad on several levels and simply inappropriate.

Shame Shame Shame on GoDaddy.com.

…so bad they had to run it twice A complete mess.

GoDaddy.com’s… ad….flopped.

…focusing on a rack does not a Super Bowl commercial make. This one is just sad,

Another Super Bowl. Another cheesy commercial for GoDaddy.


Can you tell which reviews were for our 2007 ad?
But wait! Only the last two reviews were for our 2007 Super Bowl ad. The first two comments were about our 2005 Super Bowl ad.

One of the most effective ads – ever!
The 2005 “Wardrobe Malfunction” ad is now considered one of the most effective ads ever. It is now featured in college textbooks to teach advertising. As a result of the publicity and controversy of that ad, GoDaddy’s market share of new domain name registrations climbed from 16% to 25% worldwide.

Last year’s most effective ad.
The second two comments were about our 2006 Super Bowl Ad. The 2006 “Send in the Go Daddy Girl” ad was widely regarded as one the most effective ads run during last year’s Super Bowl. As a result of that ad, GoDaddy’s market share of new domain registrations climbed from 25% to 32% worldwide.

This year’s comments were just more of the same.
So all the negative reviews and comments this year are pretty much what they were during our first two years. Nothing new.

The hard numbers.
Like its predecessors, this year’s ad was also a winner.

At the bottom of the class.
The panel chosen by The USA Today to rate Super Bowl ads, didn’t like it. Surprise, surprise! The USA Today Ad-Meter ranked it the 5th least popular commercial (more popular than commercials for Garmin, Flomax, Revlon and SalesGenie.com).

But viewers remembered the ad.
Our 2007 Super Bowl ad was definitely noticed. According to IAG – a research firm that studies TV ad effectiveness – our ad came in second in unaided consumer recall. The number one recalled ad was the Bud Light “He’s got an axe!” commercial – one of my favorites.

Downloads are way up this year.
Downloads of our commercials are up compared to last year. Last year at the end of February 2006, we witnessed 2.0 million downloads of our commercials. Through February 7th of this year, we are already 20% ahead of that number with 2.4 million downloads.

There was one big difference this year versus last year. In 2006 the majority of downloads were from the GoDaddy.com website. This year, most of the downloads were from video download sites like iFilm.com and Break.com.

New customers and revenue are at record levels.
Each year after our Super Bowl commercial airs, we experience a surge in new customers and revenue. This year the surge was the biggest ever. New customers are up 23% over the surge we experienced last year. Revenue is up a whopping 52%.

The Go Daddy Chopper.
The Go Daddy Chopper was unveiled in Miami at the Maxim Super Bowl party. I saw the bike for the first time at the unveiling, and I have got to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised. Orange County Choppers did an outstanding job on the design and construction of the bike. To see footage of the unveiling of the Go Daddy Chopper at the Maxim Super Bowl party in Miami, and other behind the scenes footage, please click here.

See The Go Daddy Chopper being built.
You can watch the final episode of American Chopper that details the building of the Go Daddy Chopper on The Learning Channel tonight. The show is scheduled to air at 9 pm EST/PST, but check your local listings as airing times may differ depending on your television service provider.

How to see our Super Bowl commercials.
To see any of our Super Bowl commercials – 2007, 2006 and 2005 – our Internet only versions, and special behind the scenes footage please click here.

Music, ringtones and wallpaper downloads — FREE.
We have made the music from our 2007 Super Bowl Commercial (as well as a few of our other popular commercials, including “car wash”) available for download. We've also provided a selection of ringtones. Plus, there's wallpaper from a number of classic and current Go Daddy commercials. It's all free. To get yours please click here.

Until next time.