Bahama Times

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Reddit bought a 5-second Super Bowl ad honoring 'underdogs' involved in GameStop trading frenzy

Reddit bought a 5-second Super Bowl ad honoring 'underdogs' involved in GameStop trading frenzy

Reddit Chief Marketing Officer Roxy Young told FOX Business in a statement that the Super Bowl ad came together in "just a few short days" with the help of its agency partners at R/GA. 

In all the craziness of Sunday night's Super Bowl, viewers in some of America's biggest cities may have missed an ad from Reddit.


The spot ran for a total of five seconds, consisting of a simple message honoring the "underdogs" involved in the GameStop trading frenzy last month, which appeared to be jammed between a car commercial and a video of horses.

"Wow, this actually worked," Reddit's message read. "If you’re reading this, it means our bet paid off."

The company acknowledged that while it couldn't afford to buy a full Super Bowl ad, it was "inspired" and decided to spend its entire marketing budget on the five seconds of airtime. According to Variety, a full 30-second Super Bowl ad cost around $5.5 million. Therefore, a five-second ad would cost about $915,000.

But the spot did not air nationally, as major networks -- especially for the Super Bowl -- do not fractionalize ad inventory. This aired on several of CBS' owned stations including WCBS in New York, KCBS in Los Angles, WBBM in Chicago and KPIX in San Francisco.

"One thing we learned from our communities last week is that underdogs can accomplish anything when they come together around a common idea," Reddit continued, in reference to the platform's speculative investing discussion forum WallStreetBets. "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."

Reddit Chief Marketing Officer Roxy Young told FOX Business in a statement that the Super Bowl ad came together in "just a few short days" with the help of its agency partners at R/GA.

"I am really proud of what we were able to achieve with just five seconds and think it beautifully captures the heart of Reddit in our unique and brilliantly absurd tone,” Young added.

The advertisement comes after Reddit users banded together last month to buy up the struggling video game retailer's call options, causing GameStop stock to surge to unprecedented levels and hurt market short-sellers. According to data provided to FOX Business by financial data firm Ortex, short-sellers have lost at least $19 billion on GameStop stock as of Jan. 29.

WallStreetBets then began targeting other heavily-shorted stocks, including AMC Entertainment Holdings, Blackberry Limited, Bed Bath & Beyond, Express Inc, and Nokia Corp, among others.

The move caught the attention of Wall Street and Main Street alike and prompted investing platforms like Robinhood to restrict trading on the securities. Robinhood's decision sparked anger online, resulting in two lawsuits being filed against the company before the move was later rolled back.

However, some lawmakers, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., were all in agreement that there should also be a congressional investigation into Robinhood's action. Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev has reportedly been asked to testify on Capitol Hill before the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 18 at 12:00 p.m. ET to address the recent market volatility.


Tenev previously said in a Twitter thread said that the investment app restricted the stocks because it has many financial requirements, including "SEC net capital obligations and clearing house deposits", which fluctuate based on market volatility.

"These requirements exist to protect investors and the markets and we take our responsibilities to comply with them seriously, including through the measures we have taken today," he added. "To be clear, this decision was not made on the direction of any market maker we route to or other market participants."

His comments came amid reports that major hedge funds with ties to Robinhood, including Sequoia Capital and Citadel Securities, were involved in the decision to halt trading. Both of the firms have denied involvement in the decision.

In addition, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held a meeting with the heads of the Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Commodities Future Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine if "further action" would be warranted related to the market volatility surround GameStop. Both the SEC and New York Attorney General Leticia James also said they would conduct their own reviews into the matter.


GameStop shares have fallen more than 7% during Monday's trading session as of the time of publication.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bahama Times
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×