Feedback loops
The one advantage of running a Super Bowl ad in this day and age is the availability of near instantaneous feedback through the internet.
Text messages, tweets, e-mails, and phone calls started rolling in as soon as our ad aired on Sunday.
Just tonight, our ad ran again on American Idol. I happened to be home when it came on, and as soon as it was over I did a quick search on Twitter for hulu. Eight of the nine newest tweets were about the ad:
If you absolutely, positively have to have it right now, then you live in the right age.
The NYTimes created a brilliant interactive graphic depicting Twitter activity during the game, and if you filter on "Talking about ads" and scroll the timeline to the 4th quarter, near the first Arizona Cardinals TD, you see a sea of Hulu across the U.S. map. Looking at that graphic just blows my mind.
[I suspect the timeline is off by a bit as our ad didn't air until after that TD, while the timeline seems to show Hulu activity even before that TD]
According to Social Media, Hulu won the TweetBowl. I didn't even know such a thing existed, but if you can catch a big wave online, you can ride it all the way to shore.
I also feel the slightest tinge of sadness in thinking that after our Super Bowl ad, I may never again work on any creative piece that is seen by that many people.
Except, I hope, Hulu.com (depending on how you define creative).