Shaw & Todd - Advertising and Marketing Communications

Without knowing offhand, I decided to look the other day to see who the number one domain registrar was. The answer didn’t surprise me; what surprised me was how far out in front the leader was. The king of the hill is Go Daddy, registering three times the number of new domains than runner-up Network Solutions. That’s quite a margin. Low prices I’m sure has a lot to do with it, but let’s not kid ourselves, their outrageous ad campaigns are a primary reason Go Daddy built such as large lead. Ad professionals have weighed in on more than one occasion, deriding the over-the-top tactics, and I must admit I was one of them (couldn’t believe how crass that first Super Bowl commercial was back in 2005) but I guess the Go Daddy execs are the ones laughing last. The good news is that Go Daddy is recent proof that advertising works. It’s also recent proof that sex still sells. Does it also prove that men are registering domains at at least three times the rate of women? Going to have to look into that one.

In the last few days, a couple people have sent me the link to this video and I’ve noticed it posted on more than one blog. So I figured I’d do my part to spread the virus. It’s a UK TV commercial that’s clever and entertaining enough live on its own as a YouTube post. Goes to show that an old school advertising tactic, if properly executed, can actually be interesting enough for people to want to see and pass along instead of fast forward.