Reddit Takes Over Super Bowl With Five-Second Ad You’d Miss If You Blink
Image via Reddit
No, it was not a glitch, a Reddit advertisement popped up on the screen.
If you were watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night, you might have noticed an eye-catching five-second ad from Reddit. “Wow, this actually worked,” the text on the advertisement read. “If you’re seeing this, our bet paid off.”
The poster initially caused a bit of confusion and some viewers thought aliens were taking over their TV.
“Big game spots are expensive, so we couldn’t buy a full one,” the company said in the advertisement. “But we were inspired and decided to spend our entire marketing budget on five seconds of airtime. One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can accomplish just about anything when they come together around a common idea.”
According to the company’s chief marketing officer Roxy Young, the platform did not plan on doing a Super Bowl spot until a week ago.
Reddit found itself being the talk of the town as it was central to the recent market craze surrounding Gamestop.
Young thought of using the traction to extend the message and share more what she believed in as a platform, but she was unsure if the team was able to pull it off.
According to Variety, the price tag for a Super Bowl spot is roughly US$5.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime, and this was way beyond budget for the company.
Reddit decided to work with creative agency Interpublic Group’s R/GA for a shorter and much affordable spot, per CNBC.
The unusual advertisement got people talking. “In case you missed the Reddit Super Bowl ad… it was only five seconds long. I definitely paused to read it,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Ok that Reddit commercial made us pause and go backward and read it. Best marketing I’ve seen in a long time,” another user added.
What just happened? pic.twitter.com/DypRp6DeQt
— Reddit (@reddit) February 8, 2021
In case you missed the Reddit Super Bowl ad... it was only 5 second long. I definitely paused to read it. pic.twitter.com/dkKNE7b0j3
— Cate 💖💜💙 (@ceemonster) February 7, 2021
The reddit ad was great- had to go back and read it. Brilliant add #reddit
— Pedro (@ninthstringrb) February 8, 2021
Ok that Reddit commercial made us pause and go backwards and read it. Best marketing I’ve seen in a long time.
— Jess 🅾️☕️💫🥂 (@Buckeyetxgrl2_0) February 8, 2021
[via Market Watch, cover image via Reddit]
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