You could have been forgiven for missing Reddit’s Super Bowl ad tonight – it only lasted five seconds. The ad consisted mainly of a text message that would have been very difficult to read at the time, claiming that the company spent “its entire marketing budget within five seconds of transmission time”.
“One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can do anything when they come together around a common idea,” says Reddit by way of explanation, in a clear nod to the GameStop stock saga that was driven by posters on the r / WallStreetBets subreddit. “Who knows, maybe you are the reason why finance textbooks have to add a chapter on ‘trends’.”
You can watch the ad above, but here’s the full text, if it’s too small on your phone screen:
Wow, this really worked.
If you are reading this, it means that our bet was worth it.
Ads for big games are expensive, so we couldn’t buy a complete one. But we were inspired and decided to spend our entire marketing budget in 5 seconds of airtime. One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can do anything when they come together around a common idea.
Who knows, maybe you are the reason why finance textbooks have to add a chapter on “trends”. Perhaps you will help the / SuperbOwl to teach the world the majesty of owls. You may even pause this 5-second ad.
Powerful things happen when people come together around something that really matters. And there is a place for that. It’s called Reddit.