When GoDaddy announced it had decided to work with an ad agency and selected Deutsch as its first, many assumed that would put an end to the brand’s penchant for drooling all over the internet with its long-running, hot chick-focused advertising.
But, we are told, the campaign is more “evolution” than “revolution. So it would seem the hot chicks are here to stay. At least for a little while. Deutsch’s first ad, entitled Otter (thankfully, not Beaver) features, perhaps, one of the hottest women ever to appear in a GoDaddy ad. Charlene, as she is called, “is how GoDaddy attracts domain name customers.”
It’s a smart wink-nod to the brand’s past work and to the fact that, whether or not sex actually sells, it certainly does attracts eyeballs.
But the smarter part of this new work is the introduction of Carl. Carl is how GoDaddy keeps customers. Carl is a geek. Carl probably doesn’t look all that great in a bikini. Charlene is a hottie. Charlene probably doesn’t look all that great in a jump suit screwing around with Ethernet cables. Oh wait.
Anyway, the point is, Charlene, who by the way has forced three state senators into early retirement, wouldn’t know a router from a T1 line but she sure can persuade thousands of horny, 20-something, wannabe internet startup geeks to register their domains with GoDaddy.
And Carl, who geeks out over load balancing and server farms but is far from an eyeball magnet, does know a router from a T1 line…and how to keep GoDaddy humming.
Charlene and Carl, a perfect match. All good advertising needs flash and substance. Just like any successful business needs flash and substance. Or as GoDaddy likes to put it; Charlene on the outside, Carl on the inside.
All in all, a nice step in a new direction. The spot will air on NBC during the Olympics.
