Go Daddy’s CEO and Founder Bob Parsons is better known for his edgy, often criticized commercials than his ability to keep a secret. This year though, Bob Parsons is promising a BIG surprise with Go Daddy’s Super Bowl campaign. Parsons says Go Daddy will unveil its first-ever GoDaddy.CO Girl in one of its two Super Bowl spots – that’s right .CO, not .COM.
.CO is a new two-letter domain name extension billed as the “hottest new Web address” for branding your online presence. Go Daddy is partnering with .CO Internet S.A.S. to air the 30-second Super Bowl ad, which Parsons believes will draw attention to millions of catchy, new domain names now available on the Internet.
Go Daddy has secured network approval for the Super Bowl commercial, centered on a stunning reveal of the new GoDaddy.CO spokesperson.
“We are going to out-Go Daddy ourselves with this one,” Parsons declared. “Who is she? I can tell you our new Go Daddy dotCO Girl is a big name – she’s iconic, she’s edgy, she’s off the hook funny and as long as I don’t talk too much, I think most everyone will be absolutely shocked!”
Critics rarely, if ever, praise Go Daddy’s Super Bowl commercials, but most agree Parsons has been able to leverage “shock value” to the company’s advantage.
Go Daddy is the world’s largest Web hosting provider, as well as the Internet’s top domain name registrar. The company has built mainstream brand awareness, in large part, with edgy Super Bowl campaigns featuring sexy Go Daddy Girls. In fact, the term GoDaddy-esque was coined by the media to describe ads as “fun, edgy and slightly inappropriate.”
Go Daddy aired its first television advertisement in the 2005 Super Bowl broadcast. The ad is known as the most effective commercial ever to have aired just once. The commercial, spoofing Janet Jackson’s infamous wardrobe malfunction, was pulled before it aired a scheduled second time. The censorship triggered controversy and helped boost Go Daddy from a new market share of 16 percent before the 2005 Super Bowl to 25 percent of all new domain name registrations after the game. That number is close to 50 percent today.
The new GoDaddy.CO Girl has agreed to keep her identity secret. In the commercial “unveiling,” Go Daddy Girls Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels have roles introducing their new colleague. (Interestingly, Parsons bucked the formal announcement plan last time a Go Daddy Girl joined the team, revealing Jillian’s addition with a surprise message blurted out via Twitter.)
“We’re not revealing this until Super Bowl Sunday,” Parsons pledged. “We shot the commercial on a closed set in early December. We filmed several different endings, but we haven’t decided whether we’ll reveal our new Go Daddy dotCO Girl in the broadcast version, or online – that’s something we just might decide at the eleventh hour.”
To “see what happens next,” viewers are directed to go online for the unrated, Internet-Only versions available on game day at www.GoDaddy.com, or in this case at www.GoDaddy.CO.
