The Superbowl is much more than Winter’s largest sporting event. It has grown into one of the premier marketing events of the year, with each game’s commercial segments bringing more controversy, emotion, and reaction from viewers than its predecessor. Kick-off is still days away, but social media hasn’t stopped raving about topics such as #Deflategate and GoDaddy’s pulled TV spot. Since Monday, tweets relating to the Superbowl have reached more than 31 million users, and accumulated more than 33 million impressions, according to a sample search conducted using Keyhole.
Here are some of the top tweets surrounding the Big Game, and the marketing frenzy associated with it:
#Budweiser filling my body with goosebumps with their lost puppy ad for the #SuperBowl .. Their marketing deserves my business
— Tyler Gotto (@TGots7) January 28, 2015
How many people outside of the marketing/Social Media world remember Oreo’s Superbowl Blackout Tweet from 2 years ago? #brandchat
— Chaim Shapiro (@ChaimShapiro) January 28, 2015
Superbowl is such a perfect event for marketing professors to create a big pile of homework & analysis for students.
— Tim Ng (@t_nguyen91) January 27, 2015
Looking forward to the #SuperBowl ads! One of the best marketing events of Winter! #ads #marketing
— Daniella Burley (@daniburley) January 22, 2015
The @nfl‘s marketing is pure genius. What drives new viewers to the #SuperBowl better than a fresh controversy, a villain, a hero. #solid
— Rock Harper (@Rock_Harper) January 26, 2015
“@SuperBowl: At this time next week…We’ll have a #SB49 champion!” forget the game, I wanna see the ads!#marketing #mylove #superbowlads
— Oana Cojocaru (@onutzili) January 26, 2015
The vast majority of the Superbowl social conversation seems grounded in humor and anticipation, with the exception of GoDaddy. The domain registry brand found itself on the hot seat once again this week, after airing a sneak peak at an ad that features a lost puppy finding its way home, only to be sold by its owner on a GoDaddy website. GoDaddy pulled the ad after a Change.org petition garnered tens of thousands of signitures within hours. That wasn’t good enough for some Tweeters though:
GoDaddy misses the mark on marketing for what, the 10th year in a row. Maybe longer. How long have they been doing Superbowl commercials?
— Niki Kohari (@nikibeth) January 28, 2015
I will never do business with #godaddy again over that horrific #SuperBowl add. Great marketing idea for bad publicity.
— Jon Sacco (@jonsacco) January 27, 2015
@GoDaddy Shame on you. New superbowl ad is horrible. Advocating selling dogs online. Time to fire your marketing department.
— Rene’ (@reneferr) January 27, 2015
The whole marketing team at GoDaddy needs to get fired. I don’t know who would use their product after their terrible Superbowl ad
— Robin Runyan (@atomicpixi) January 27, 2015
Great Marketing Plan for @GoDaddy got all of to talk about them, more than any commericial will get them! #GoDaddyPuppy #SuperBowl
— Lisa Leyden Guldan (@LisaGuldan) January 28, 2015
#GoDaddy will get more hits pulling their add then they will running it. Brilliant marketing #SuperBowl #GoDaddyPuppy
— Clark A. Stillwell (@womporia) January 28, 2015
Fans who aren’t discussing the ads have spent the last week fixated on the Patriots’ defeat of the Colts; a venerable media storm with deflated footballs at its core. Rallying behind the hashtag #Deflategate, fans are using Twitter to vent, condemn, and crack jokes about the viral controversy:
Somewhere, the Cialis and Viagra marketing teams are working vigorously to create the greatest Superbowl commercial of all time #DeflateGate
— Kenny Glasheen (@k_glash) January 23, 2015
I believe that #DeflateGate is a marketing scheme to make #SuperBowl more interesting. #BA317 @JessycaLewis @nfl your thoughts?
— chris tewhill (@C2_89) January 26, 2015
Maybe #NFL Marketing is behind #DeflateGate to hype #SuperBowl I for one couldn’t care less about. #DramaNeedsAHeel #SBXLIX
— Dub Pool (@dubpool) January 25, 2015
What company is going to be smart & creative enough to weave a “deflate” theme into their #SuperBowl commercials? #marketing
— Rob Chandler (@RobSChandler) January 27, 2015
