More Super Bowl 50 Advertisers: PayPal & Honda Gear Up, While GoDaddy Takes The Bench

Since last week’s Super Bowl campaign announcements from Wix and Butterfinger, both Honda and PayPal have announced that they, too, will be joining Super Bowl 50’s advertiser lineup — while GoDaddy, a longtime Super Bowl brand, has decided to take the bench.

PayPal’s Debut Super Bowl Appearance

PayPal announced last week it would be airing its first-ever 45-second ad during the first quarter of Super Bowl 50. The brand did not release any details on the creative direction but did say the goal of the campaign would be to start a larger conversation around money.

“At the core of this campaign, our purpose is to introduce the world to PayPal’s vision for the future of money — to empower people and businesses to move and manage money securely, efficiently and affordably,” writes PayPal’s VP of global brand marketing, Greg Fisher.

Along with its Super Bowl ad campaign announcement, PayPal said it is launching its first major brand campaign as an independent company.

Honda’s Super Bowl Campaign to Feature New Ridgeline Pickup Truck

After sitting out during this year’s game, Honda will re-up its status as a Super Bowl advertiser with a 60-second spot to air during the third quarter of next year’s game.

Honda intends for its upcoming Super Bowl campaign to act as a launching pad for its all-new 2017 Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, with extended promotions across several platforms, screens and internet properties.

“Super Bowl 50 is the right time and the right venue to communicate Honda’s continued leadership in light trucks,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manger for Honda’s automobile division. “The multi-platform approach will enable Ridgeline to come out of the gate strong in 2016.”

Like PayPal, Honda released no details on the brand’s creative strategy, but AdWeek reports the spot will be created by ad agency RPA.

GoDaddy Takes the Bench

GoDaddy, a regular Super Bowl advertiser since 2005, said it would not be buying a spot in next year’s Super Bowl as part of its new branding initiative to focus on more personalized, data-driven marketing.

A GoDaddy spokesperson told Ad Age the time had come for the brand to move beyond the generic megaphone of a Super Bowl campaign to a more targeted strategy.

“We can ‘talk’ to the segment of the SB audience we want (very small business owners) and do it in a more personal and timely way,” said the GoDaddy spokesperson in an email to Ad Age.

After releasing its Super Bowl spot in advance of this year’s game, GoDaddy pulled its original campaign when it caused a backlash. The ad, which featured a puppy being sold to new owners, had many viewers criticizing the brand for making light of inhumane treatment toward animals.