Super Bowl’s ‘Dot-com’ Ads Mostly Unmemorable
Many of the “dot-coms” that spent an average of $2 million for 30-second spots during ABC’s Super Bowl broadcast on Sunday might be wondering why, according to results of an online survey released Tuesday by Harris Interactive, a Rochester, N.Y.-based polling firm.
The survey showed that only two dot-com advertisers--E-Trade and Pets.com--made solid impressions on 2,696 online respondents. More than half remembered E-Trade’s ads, and 41% remembered Pets.com’s ads. In contrast, just 3% recalled Computer.com as an advertiser and only 2% remembered Kforce.com.
Harris wasn’t the only research firm to suggest that dot-com ads didn’t deliver. “People were disappointed by the dot-coms,” said Jim Ahee, a principal with Farmington Hills, Mich.-based SAA/Research, which conducted a phone survey after the game. “The ads weren’t what they were expecting in a broadcast where they’re used to the advertising being outstanding.”
E-Trade’s playful “monkey” ad and the colorful “Oz” spot from FedEx were the broadcast’s best-received commercials, according to InsightExpress, a division of Greenwich, Conn.-based NFO Worldwide research firm that conducted an online survey of 650 viewers.
While dot-coms jumped into the Super Bowl broadcast to build brand awareness, “many of them were fairly abstract in how they went about doing it,” InsightExpress Vice President Lee Smith said. “Some of the spots were fun to watch--and, in some cases, interesting--but they lacked a clear communication of their core message . . . which is really a part of Marketing 101.”
Individual Web sites on Tuesday began to release data about post-game Web traffic. AutoTrader.com reported a 414% increase in visitor traffic after its ad ran. The company that advertises used vehicles said traffic on Monday remained three times higher than normal.
Only a handful of nearly 40 companies that flashed Web site addresses during the broadcast appeared to have problems accommodating the surge in online visitors, according to Gene Shklar, vice president of public services for Keynote Systems Inc., which monitors online traffic jams.
Epidemic, which told viewers they could earn money by incorporating ads in their e-mail, “became totally inaccessible between 4 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.,” Shklar said. “There was more traffic than the site could handle.”
Visitors to AutoTrader.com’s Web site had to wait 28 seconds for a complete download after the company’s ad ran, up from 6 seconds earlier in the day. LastMinuteTravel.com’s site “was cranking along at an average of 5.5 seconds, but jumped to 62 seconds” when the company’s ad ran.
“The message is that most of the companies learned their lesson when it comes to making sure there’s enough room to accommodate people once you invite them,” Shklar said. “If customers can’t get through to your site, all it takes is a simple mouse click and they’re on their way somewhere else.”
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Dot-Ads
‘Dot-com’ companies dominated the NFL’s Big Game. Here are the fan favorites, and least favorites, according to an Internet survey of 650 viewers.
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Favorites
1. E-Trade: Monkey
2. Pets.com: Sock puppet
3. E-Trade: Emergency room
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Least favorites
1. Healtheon/WebMD: Muhammad Ali
2. Lifeminders.com: Worst Super Bowl ad
3. Monster.com: Robert Frost
Source: InsightExpress
