Go Daddy says that Super Bowl commercials were a success

Go Daddy says that the Super Bowl commercials were an unprecedented business success. That is not bad considering that “YourBigIdea.CO” is a copy of Verisign’s “What’s your .net idea?” campaign.

GoDaddy.com’s two 30-second ads drove tremendous buzz and business, giving Go Daddy its most successful Super Bowl Sunday ever. Last night’s ads delivered more new customers and more overall sales, as compared to any other Super Bowl campaign in the company’s history.

The Kiss drew more than 4 million YouTube views before the big game. CBS rejected two slightly edgier versions of this ad.

The second Go Daddy Super Bowl ad, “YourBigIdea.CO” has earned more praise from critics and directly addressed the importance of taking action on your big ideas by registering a .CO domain name before someone else does.

Here is the complete press release:

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Feb. 4, 2013) – This year’s Super Bowl commercials are an unprecedented business success for the world’s largest Web host and domain name provider Go Daddy.com . Its two 30-second ads drove tremendous buzz and business, giving Go Daddy its most successful Super Bowl Sunday ever. Last night’s ads delivered more new customers and more overall sales, as compared to any other Super Bowl campaign in the company’s history.

“Attracting new customers is what advertising is all about,” said Go Daddy CEO Blake Irving. “We wanted our Super Bowl commercials to generate new customers and overall sales, and that’s precisely what happened. We set all-time Super Bowl Sunday records for mobile sales, Website Builders, website hosting and new customers. This is a big win for all our teams who worked so hard to deliver on game day and also for all our new customers looking to grow their small businesses.”

Go Daddy’s two commercials, both produced by Deutsch NY, took distinctly different approaches and both delivered. “YourBigIdea.CO” illustrated how Go Daddy helps people with big ideas succeed online with a .CO domain – and did it with a clever twist. The other ad, called “Perfect Match,” used humor to demonstrate the two sides of Go Daddy by way of a memorable kiss. The now famous lip-lock featured supermodel Bar Refaeli, representing Go Daddy’s sexy side and new sensation Jesse Heiman, representing Go Daddy’s smart side.

Reaction to the “Kiss” commercial trended on Twitter with the hashtag #TheKiss and drew more than 4 million YouTube views before the big game. It also polarized viewers and drew criticism from some who said it was inappropriate.

That last word, “inappropriate,” was music to the ears of Go Daddy’s Executive Chairman and Founder Bob Parsons, who has always embraced commercial controversy. “Inappropriate? Hearing that word, I absolutely knew we were in for a record Super Bowl ad campaign. And by the way, I think both of our ads were the funniest in the game, by far.”

CBS rejected two slightly edgier versions of “Perfect Match.” Portions of the banned kissing video were posted to GoDaddy.com at kickoff so viewers could decide if they thought the original versions went too far.

“We’re not going to apologize for ‘The Kiss,’ said CEO Blake Irving. “It’s sparking conversations. It was approved by network Standards and Practices and it uses humor to illustrate the point about how powerful a combination ‘sexy’ and ‘smart’ are. Personally, I think it’s hilarious!”

The commercial has put the young man who kisses Bar Refaeli in a red-hot spotlight, landing him appearances on many national television programs, such as the ever-popular “Today Show” and several big entertainment programs.

“Kissing a supermodel was great, in fact this might be one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” said Heiman, who was a Go Daddy customer long before being cast in the role. “I love representing Go Daddy’s ‘serious side’ and not just for the kiss, but also because it’s a company I wish more people knew about. Most people think of Go Daddy for having edgy Super Bowl ads, right? But, beneath that, Go Daddy is a smart tech company with personalized service unlike others. I should know, I’ve been hosting my site, JesseHeiman.net, with Go Daddy since long before ‘the kiss!”

“I knew working with an iconic Super Bowl advertiser like Go Daddy would be something special, but I think this spot is exceeding all of our high expectations,” said Refaeli. “Jesse was great to work with, he put me at ease from the start when we first met on-set and he’s ‘the real deal’ when it comes to using Go Daddy to leverage the Internet … what more could you ask for?”

The second Go Daddy Super Bowl ad, “YourBigIdea.CO” has earned more praise from critics and directly addressed the importance of taking action on your big ideas by registering a .CO domain name before someone else does. The commercial, tagged #YourBigIdea, also aired in the first-half and it, too, drove business.

“Since our first Super Bowl ad with Go Daddy in 2011, dot-CO domain names under management have increased by more than 215 percent, while driving revenue growth, market share and brand awareness year-over-year,” said Juan Diego Calle, CEO and Founder of .CO Internet S.A.S., the company behind the .CO domain. “‘YourBigIdea.CO’ seems to be our best ad yet – receiving acclaim from the critics for high entertainment value, setting records for Internet traffic to our website and engaging our customers and community via social media more than ever before in our history.”

This was Go Daddy’s ninth consecutive Super Bowl campaign, and the third campaign showcasing its .CO partner. If last night is any indication, you can expect to be hearing about this year’s Go Daddy commercials for a few more days, at least.