Reddit’s five-second long super bowl ad was masterminded by marketing agency r/ga, whose head of media and connections is Australian Ellie Bamford.
It was the ad that stole the Super Bowl in just five seconds.
The Super Bowl is known for flashy campaigns with dramatic plotlines, celebrity cameos and million-dollar budgets.
R/GA’s genius was taking that expectation and flipping it on its head. In a reference to Reddit’s role in the short squeeze of GameStop stock last week, the ad reads:
“Wow, this actually worked.
If you’re reading this, it means our bet paid off.
Big game spots are expensive, so we couldn’t buy a full one. But we were inspired and decided to spend our entire marketing budget on 5 seconds of airtime.
One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can accomplish just about anything when they come together around a common idea.
Who knows, maybe you’ll be the reason finance textbooks have to add a chapter on ‘tendies.’ Maybe you’ll help r/SuperbOwl teach the world about the majesty of owls. Maybe you’ll even pause this 5-second ad.
Powerful things happen when people rally around something they really care about. And there’s a place for that. It’s called Reddit.”
Ellie Bamford, R/GA’s Head of Media is Adelaide born, proof of the pivotal role Australians play in the world’s biggest marketing agencies.
Bamford told Variety that, “we knew we had to break the mold and disrupt the current ad model. It wouldn’t be very ‘Reddit’ if we didn’t.”
