Blink – and you could have missed Reddit’s Super Bowl 2021 ad.
The social media website pulled out a 5-second commercial that featured a shout at “underdogs” – in a clear nod to the recent Redditor-fueled GameStop frenzy.
“Big game spots are expensive, so we couldn’t buy a full one,” says the full-text ad.
“But we were inspired and decided to spend our marketing budget on 5 seconds of airtime.”
It continued, “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.”
That appeared to be a reference to the WallStreetBets Reddit forum, whose members last week managed to shake up investors by increasing shares in GameStop and other companies in spite of large hedge funds.
“Powerful things happen when people are committed to something they really care about. And there is a place for that. It’s called Reddit, ”the site’s ad read.
The unusual place prompted several people to pause or rewind the game to read it.
In case you missed the Reddit Super Bowl ad … it only lasted 5 seconds. I absolutely paused to read it, ”one person wrote on Twitter.
Another viewer tweeted: “The reddit ad was great – I had to go back to read it.”
“Okay, that Reddit commercial made us pause and stand back to read it. Best marketing I’ve seen in a long time, ”one user added.
Even Reddit didn’t seem to be sure their message would get across.
“If you’re reading this, it means our bet is paying off,” the ad began.
The company later responded to a number of Twitter users who posted the ad after it aired, including, “It worked !!!!”
While it was unclear how much the website spent on the ad, a 30-second commercial cost $ 5,500,000.