Global Internet company GoDaddy.com, with the help of a local Madison production company, has big plans for this year's Super Bowl.

Hoping to top last year's controversial commercial, GoDaddy.com selected ProVideo to produce the Internet company's newest advertisement. Last year, GoDaddy's Super Bowl ad spoofed Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction with actress Candice Michelle.

ProVideo Vice President Jim Stiener said the company was excited to learn they had been selected to produce the ad.

"We had to work awfully hard to get it and we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do it," he said.

ProVideo, 2302 W. Badger Rd., produces television commercials for local, regional and national advertising agencies and long-format videos for businesses and corporations.
Stiener said the experience itself will provide exposure to Madison, a city growing in the fields of advertising and production.

The company has worked with GoDaddy.com for the past year and has produced 14 television commercials for the company, which may have helped GoDaddy's selection decision.

"Every spot we produced before has lent ourselves to … giv[ing] GoDaddy the confidence that we could deliver that type of product," he said.

The company is also familiar with the commercial's director and University of Wisconsin alumnus Billy Nahn, who directed the past 14 commercials, including one in last week's NFC Playoff Championship.
Nahn said the opportunity to direct a Super Bowl ad is one of the biggest highlights of his current career.

"I've been working with GoDaddy for the past 14 commercials," he said. "This is by far the biggest arena."

While Nahn would not give specifics about this year's commercial, he said it would be "GoDaddy-esque."

"The ad's got to get noticed, and Candice Michelle is hot," he added. "So we're always pushing the envelope."

In dealing with the hype surrounding Super Bowl advertisements, UW journalism and mass communications professor Doug McCleod said people put high expectations on these anticipated ads and, therefore, companies aim to produce their best product.

"Super Bowl ads have become part of the show," McCleod said. "The ads are designed to generate buzz, a secondary effect in which people talk about the ads around the water cooler the next day."
In creating a successful and buzz-worthy product, Stiener said ProVideo began with 50 creative concepts, which were narrowed down to three ideas after strategic meetings with GoDaddy.com's internal creative team.

The commercial has been in the production process for nearly a month, and the company recently returned from filming alternate endings in Los Angeles.

Stiener said the opportunity to work in Los Angeles was a great opportunity because it was easier to get talent and production materials.

"[Los Angeles] is the holy land for what we do," Nahn added. "The talent pool, the casting, the locations that are available are amazing. They do that level every day out there."
After three or four days of editing, the commercial will be submitted to the ABC network for approval. As of last week, GoDaddy.com has submitted 10 possible commercials to the network, but all were rejected.

Furthermore, according to a weblog entry by GoDaddy.com's president Bob Parsons, the National Football League may review any GoDaddy.com commercial approved by ABC.