Dennys Free Grand Slam Superbowl Ad Fail

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Nearly a billion people tuned in to watch Superbowl 43 (XLIII) broadcast live today on NBC television. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl by a score of 27 to 23 over the Arizona Cardinals but who won and who lost in the world of Super Bowl advertising? With Super Bowl commercials costing companies between $2.4 million and $3 million per 30-second commercial advertising spot, it's almost unthinkable to me that a company would not plan ahead with a Web strategy to handle the ginormous flood of visitors to their website receives seconds after the commercial has been aired. Superbowl 44 (XLIV) advertisers take note... millions of us watch the Super Bowl while simultaneously being on our computers, don't miss the opportunity you've invested so much money on, with a site that cannot handle a massive surge in online traffic.

Denny's and their website Dennys.com was the first fail when it came to Internet strategy for Super Bowl commercial marketing. The advertisement itself wasn't bad, in fact I thought that Denny's offer of a Free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone in America was pretty bold. Dear Denny's, you probably already discovered that a spectacular offer like a free breakfast for 300 million people will result in millions attempting to visit your website. Here's what I saw in my Firefox browser after waiting several minutes for the site to load...