"Behold, 404 Media's Super Bowl ad. Yes, we bought a Super Bowl ad. No, we did not spend $8 million. Until now, 404 Media has never done any paid advertising, but we figured why not get in on the country's biggest ad extravaganza with a message about our journalist-owned, human-focused media company. There are tons of ads for AI and big tech this year, so how about some counter programming?"
"After googling "smallest TV markets in the United States," we came across KYOU, which serves the city of Ottumwa, Iowa: population ~25,000. There were other options, but we thought we would try Ottumwa and see if anyone responded or if this seemed like a fool's errand. We emailed KYOU to see if we could buy a Super Bowl ad, and we got an immediate answer: There was one slot left, and it would cost $2,550."
"After batting around various concepts involving celebrities that we don't actually know and high production values that we could neither afford nor execute, we decided to write an incredibly straightforward script about who we are, what we do, and what type of person we are for. We each recorded it in front of our computers where we do our podcasts. It is perhaps the easiest possible concept we could have created, but I think it feels very us."
404 Media bought a localized Super Bowl ad aired in Ottumwa, Iowa, to promote its journalist-owned, human-focused media company. The effort was inspired by a 2015 example when The Verge bought a Super Bowl ad that aired only in Helena, Montana, for $700. The company sought counterprogramming to the heavy presence of AI and big tech ads. The team researched smallest TV markets and contacted KYOU, which offered an in-game slot for $2,550 and cheaper alternative slots. Staff produced a low-budget, straightforward ad featuring staff recorded at their podcast workspaces and arranged local filming.
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