Reddit bought a Super Bowl commercial in major local markets to capitalize on the Gamestop trading craze that began in its forums.
While watching the Super Bowl Sunday night, viewers in certain markets saw an eye-catching five-second ad from Reddit. „Wow, this actually worked,“ text on the ad read. „If you’re reading this, our bet paid off.“ The ad, which ran in only certain markets, initially caused a bit of confusion. Many paused their broadcasts to read it more closely. Some apparently 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 ad. „But we were inspired and decided to spend our entire marketing budget on 5 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.“ Reddit actually hadn’t decided to do a Super Bowl spot until a week ago, according to the company’s Chief Marketing Officer Roxy Young. But conversation about the site was hitting a fever pitch in recent weeks as Reddit was central to the recent market craze around Gamestop. „We started to see the velocity of conversation around Reddit, around our communities. And it was increasing significantly over the last few weeks…“ Young told CNBC in an interview Monday. „It’s my responsibility as a marketer to think about these opportunities, and how we can use them as a springboard to extend our message and to share more about what we believe in as a platform.“ But she wasn’t sure if the company would be able to do pull it off. „I think any marketer would ask themselves, is there an opportunity for us to be in this conversation when millions of people are tuning into a singular event?“ she said.
