Trading in provocative auto racer Danica Patrick in a bikini for action star Jean-Claude Van Damme playing musical instruments in a bakery has not given Go Daddy’s new ad campaign a promising start with consumers.
Since premiering its new TV ad spot on Thursday, September 5th, ad awareness for Go Daddy has increased nearly 50% from 13% to 18% of the U.S. population. The brand’s perception also had a modest improvement over the first week since the campaign began.
However, in the past five days, while ad awareness has remained elevated, consumer perception of GoDaddy has fallen back to just below where it was prior to the ad launch -- with equal positive and negative feedback from consumers.
Since Go Daddy was sold to three private equity firms in 2011 for $2.25 billion, the company’s infamous ad campaigns featuring barely-dressed women were phased out for a gradually more restrained approach. Their Super Bowl ad last February featured model Bar Refaeli giving a long kiss to a very nerdy young man, with Patrick moderating in full race gear. The new Jean-Claude Van Damme ad is perhaps its most conservative yet, featuring no women.
Go Daddy was measured with YouGov BrandIndex’s Ad Awareness and Buzz scores. Ad Awareness asks respondents: “Have you seen an advertisement for the brand in the past two weeks?” Buzz asks respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" Results are for adults age 18+.
A score can range from 100 to -100 and is compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.
On September 5th, the day the Jean-Claude Van Damme campaign launched, Go Daddy had a Buzz score of one, meaning slightly more positive feedback vs. negative feedback. By September 12th, the score moved up to 4, but then dropped just below zero by September 15th.
Buzz: Go Daddy
Ad Awareness: Go Daddy
