Reddit Buys Five-Second Super Bowl Commercial to Celebrate GameStop Saga, Uses Up Entire Marketing Budget

Reddit bought a five-second spot on Super Bowl Sunday and used it to run a commercial celebrating their role in the recent GameStop stock frenzy.

Their commercial was simply an image of text designed to look like a Reddit post. Titled “Wow, this actually worked,” the text says they spent their entire marketing budget on the five-second commercial, praised their communities, and celebrated the idea that great things can happen when people join forces in pursuit of a common idea and goal. This is an unmistakable reference to the GameStop stock market frenzy, which was kicked off on Reddit’s WallStreetBets community.

The entire commercial text reads as follows:

“If you’re reading this, it means our bet paid off.

“Big game spots are expensive, so we couldn’t buy a full one. But we were inspired and decided to spend our entire marketing budget on 5 seconds of airtime. One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can accomplish just about anything when they come together around a common idea.

“Who knows, maybe you’ll be the reason finance textbooks have to add a chapter on ‘tendies.’ Maybe you’ll help r/SuperbOwl teach the world about the majesty of owls. Maybe you’ll even pause this 5-second ad.

“Powerful things happen when people rally around something they really care about. And there’s a place for that. It’s called Reddit.”