Update: The Wall Street Journal notes that The Verge is actually running a regional Super Bowl ad, which means it did not pay upwards of $4 million for a national spot. The headline has been changed to reflect that.
Update No. 2: The Verge is actually spending $700 on its “Super Bowl ad” and will run the 30-second commercial in Helena, Mont., reports The New York Times.
Original post:
Welcome to 2015, where technology news websites are buying Super Bowl advertisements.
The Verge, a Vox Media-owned tech news hub that launched in 2011, has a 30-second unlisted ad up on its YouTube page titled “The Verge Super Bowl ad” that’s all about how our smartphones are changing the world. “It’s an explosion that’s changed every part of our lives,” the narrator says.
FishbowlNY, an AdWeek affiliate, noted that a post with the placeholder headline “DNP Verge Super Bowl ad” was briefly live on The Verge’s site today, along with the embedded video. Though the post was taken down, the YouTube video is still up. FishbowlNY confirmed that commercial will indeed run during the Super Bowl.
That means Vox Media, which raised $46.5 million in November, spent around $4 million on the ad. It’s a rather unique advertising decision, given that big consumer corporations like Budweiser, Audi, or McDonald’s are usually the ones spending big bucks to stream an ad during the big game.
Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff tweeted this today:
didn't plan for it to get out this way, but…enjoy https://t.co/WcyCu5ypgm … http://t.co/eh7meLDeoi … #verge #SuperBowlXLIX
— Jim Bankoff (@Bankoff) January 20, 2015
As for GeekWire, well, we don’t have any Super Bowl ads planned for the time being. However, the video below could be a potential option in the future. It really shows how technology is impacting today’s world.
