Go Daddy Inks Deal to Be ‘Presenting Sponsor’ for College Football

GoDaddy.com
is making a big push into prime-time sports with its sponsorship of ESPN TV’s
Saturday night college football games, starting Sept. 22.

The deal
makes GoDaddy.com the official presenting sponsor of the Saturday night games,
which feature on-air announcements, logo placement and a number of commercials
on the sports network and its affiliates, including ABC TV. The move comes
after the company’s success as a broadcast sponsor for this year’s Indianapolis
500 Race and sponsorship of IndyCar driver and Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick.

The world’s
largest domain name registrar initially made a name for itself with its Super
Bowl advertising, but is now moving into a new role as a marquee advertiser
for collegiate football, attracted by its loyal audience and key demographic.

“This
is an audience we really like. The vast majority are Internet users, and the
best part of it is these viewers are absolutely passionate,” said
GoDaddy.com CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “Our research shows college
football fans rank third for fan intensity behind the NFL and NASCAR.”

The
sponsorship also includes air time for Go Daddy commercials during the NASCAR
Nextel Cup, plus several college football bowls, including the Capital One,

Liberty and Alamo Bowl
games. GoDaddy.com kicks off its college football sponsorship on ESPN2, Saturday,
Sept. 22 with a double-header featuring
Kentucky
vs.
Arkansas, followed by Purdue vs.

Minnesota.

Go Daddy
plans to broadcast a variety of ads as part of the new deal, and its production
company is working on two new commercials featuring an unnamed NFL star who is
said to be quintessentially “GoDaddy-esque.” The media coined the flashy term
during censorship controversies involving Go Daddy’s push for approval of its
risqu ads, which are designed to be edgy, sexy and “a touch inappropriate,”
according to Parsons.

“It’s
funny, the same network that rejected so many of our commercials for the 2006
Super Bowl (ABC) is going to allow us to air a spot that CBS refused to air for
last year’s Super Bowl,” Parsons pointed out.

ESPN/ABC
TV has approved the commercial titled “I Own You” to air as part of the
sponsorship. As for whether GoDaddy.com will advertise in this year’s Super
Bowl, Parsons says he’s still weighing his options and engaging in dialog about
the decision on his popular Web blog, www.BobParsons.com.

To see
GoDaddy.com’s “I Own You” ad, or any of its commercials, visit www.GoDaddy.com/commercials.

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