Reddit surprised the most attentive viewers of the Super Bowl in major markets with a five-second ad that referred to the company’s involvement in the recent stock market frenzy that involved GameStop and AMC Entertainment.
The image polishing board managed by the digital platform owned by Conde Nast had to be paused to be read. The ad was not on the national list of advertisers for CBS’s Super Bowl LV broadcast. But it aired on CBS O&O and affiliates in nine of the top ten markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, DC
“This announcement is ultimately a celebration of the Reddit communities and a timely reminder that when people come together around their passion, powerful things can happen,” said Roxy Young, director of marketing at Reddit. “We see this happening on Reddit, at different scales, every day and it has been so much fun to see more and more people experiencing it in the past few weeks.”
The list referred to the turmoil caused last week by the stock trading campaign of retail investors who met through Reddit and other social media forums to support actions aimed at making profits by short sellers.
The ad opened up as if it were an SUV commercial before splitting into a standard ominous test screen and then switching to a slate titled, “Wow, that really worked,” followed by “if you’re reading this , it means that our bet is paid. ” Reddit explained that it decided to “spend our entire marketing budget in five seconds of airtime”.
The list made reference to the struggle between individual retail investors and institutional Wall Street when the stock manipulation campaign began to increase GameStop’s stock to thwart the ambitions of short sellers who were betting against the besieged brick and mortar retailer. The focus shifted to exhibitor AMC Entertainment and American Airlines last week, as the financial system and its regulators struggled to control the online uprising.
Reddit said last week’s events demonstrate that “underdogs can do just about anything when they come together around a common idea”. In a nod to the anger unleashed when the markets and regulators and investment app Robinhood, who failed to deal with the rush in using his commission-free trading platform.
“Who knows, maybe you are the reason why finance textbooks have to add a chapter on“ trends ”, the blackboard said.
What just happened? pic.twitter.com/DypRp6DeQt
– Reddit (@reddit) February 8, 2021
Ellie Bamford, head of media and connections at the R / GA brand marketing agency, which developed the commercial, said it needed an unusual format to get attention.
“We knew that we had to break the mold and interrupt the current ad model. It wouldn’t be much ‘Reddit’ if we didn’t do it, ”said Bamford. “The independent 5-second announcement in the big game not only aroused curiosity in real time, but it continues to inspire people to build powerful communities around their passions. It’s a big impact in 5 seconds. “