Why GoDaddy Won't Return to the Super Bowl This Year

GoDaddy won't return to the Super Bowl this year. Instead, the company, which was once known for its risqué big game commercials, is reuniting with racecar driver Danica Patrick for her final races. GoDaddy will sponsor Patrick in both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 and mark her next chapter as an entrepreneur and business owner. Patrick will retire from racing this year. The decision to skip the Super Bowl comes as GoDaddy looks to create more long-lasting marketing opportunities, says Chief Marketing Officer Barb Rechterman. "This gives us an extended period of time to pull off an elongated marketing campaign and gives us a consistency in message as we move forward," she says. "The Super Bowl is a great platform, and who knows, we may be back there at some point… but this particular opportunity for us was much more exciting," Rechterman says. "The beauty of this particular campaign is it has longer-term sustainability and that's what we were looking for this year." Moving forward, GoDaddy will underpin the online presence for Patrick's business endeavors like her Warrior clothing line and her California vineyard. Patrick will star in new TV commercials for GoDaddy as well. "Danica pursuing her passions off the track and turning her side hustles into a full-time gig, that's what we have been helping out customers do," Rechterman says. Patrick has long been the face of GoDaddy, appearing in 13 Super Bowl ads on behalf of the company. She touted the company's cloud-based services alongside the Pussycat Dolls, appeared in a shower scene and painted a nude model with body paint to promote the company's ".co" domain-name extension. GoDaddy revamped its marketing strategy, moving away from its raunchier roots, starting in 2013. In the 2014 Super Bowl, it delivered "Bodybuilder," featuring Patrick in a muscle suit. It sat out Super Bowl 50 in 2016 game but brought the internet to life in last year's game. GoDaddy signed Patrick in 2006, soon after her career began and two years before she made history as the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

Why GoDaddy Won't Return to the Super Bowl This Year

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