Wix.com is returning to the Super Bowl lineup for the third year in a row, but this time, in a unique way. The company announced that they would launch their campaign on YouTube Live and Facebook Live on January 27.
The company used the social media platforms to have the viewers send live yes or no questions and guess who the stars of their commercials were. At the end of the reveal, Jason Statham and Gal Gadot removed their masks and Wix.com shared the first spot, featured below.
The campaign features a series of short films, including the 30-second commercial for Super Bowl LI, directed by Louis Leterrier, known for his work on the Transporter films, Unleashed, The Incredible Hulk, Clash of the Titans and Now You See Me. Additionally, Wix once again called on the San Francisco creative team Jeff Huggins and Andrea Janetos to produce the multi-channel series.
Additional spots will be released through game day, and will be accompanied by a global digital marketing campaign, with numerous opportunities for user engagement, contests and game day activations.
Omer Shai, CMO at Wix.com told DIVERGE about their plans for the Super Bowl 2017 ads:
Why did you choose to reveal your stars/ad campaign via Facebook Live and YouTube Live?
We knew immediately after last years Super Bowl that we would be back. Gal Gadot and Jason Statham bring their celebrity power to the screen, but Felix is the star of this action-packed global marketing campaign that is composed of films, social engagement, activations, contests and the Super Bowl ad. Our customer is key, not just in the ad but in everything we do. By launching the first of the videos with Facebook Live and YouTube Live we were able to speak directly with our audience from the start. As a company, we always look to be disruptive and try different things. We also know that our users are very social media friendly, so this made sense. Our teams engage with our customers every day and social channels offer us a great platform for interaction with our global audience.
What kind of response did you receive?
Already, millions of people have seen our campaign and there is so much more leading up to Game Day on February 5. We love that people are having as much fun watching this as we had making it – it’s a powerful message about Wix wrapped in a really entertaining action short.
Were people happy to know who the stars were?
People were ecstatic! The level of engagement we have received via social and press has been astounding. By sharing it first through Facebook Live and YouTube Live, we were able to truly tailor the content for our users, as well as have anyone join in to watch from anywhere in the world. The Super Bowl is not just about connecting with just one sub-section of the audience, but to resonate with everyone tuned into the game. We love that we have been able to generate this kind of buzz early on and still have so much more to share, as it tells us that we are able to resonate with a larger audience.
What were the gifts people could win?
We are holding a series of contests throughout the campaign. Starting January 23 Wix will be giving away $10,000 every weekday and $50,000 on Game Day. One contest includes having people change their social profile picture to that of our star, Felix. Go here and you can change your picture to that of our star, Felix and enter the contest.
Who is the team behind the Super Bowl ads?
We have an amazing team behind this year’s campaign. The short films are directed by Louis Leterrier, known for his work on the Transporter films and Unleashed, amongst others. Additionally, we are excited to be working again with the San Francisco creative team Jeff Huggins and Andrea Janetos to produce the multi-channel series. The rest of the work was done in-house. With have 180 people on our marketing team, and it is such a pleasure to work with such a talented team that can create this kind of magic and develop it into a cross-cultural and multi-channel campaign.
Any hints on what commercial fans can expect?
Get ready for an action-packed series of videos. Each of these videos has a little something for everyone who is watching. Fans will be able to engage with the campaign through to Game Day.
How many spots are you working on?
We will have over eight spots for this campaign. As we tease them out,people will learn how in this disruptive world, Wix is always available to enable our customers.
Additional thoughts:
While the spot will be aired during the Big Game, this is a multilingual and cross-cultural campaign that extends beyond February 5. By activating in multiple languages we are making sure to make this a campaign that resonates across markets and demographics, and also pays attention to the cross-cultural communication that occurs amongst our fans.
