I think it’s a pretty big deal that GoDaddy is going to run a Super Bowl ad promoting .co domains! I mean, it is the most expensive 30 second ads a company can buy and yet GoDaddy is going to run one for a TLD that not many have heard of? Keep in mind that a lot of people simply do not even know what GoDaddy offers yet and they have run many Super Bowl ads!
One reason why I think GoDaddy is going to do it?
$29.99
GoDaddy has a $29.99 price tag on .co domain names. Considering that is nearly 3 x’s the price as a .com ($11.99) it makes sense to sell a more expensive domain that has "more available" domain names to register! I’m not exactly sure of the fee registrars pay for .co domains to the registry, but I’m sure there is some room!
The info image on GoDaddy did kind of make me laugh though and scratch my head a little bit.
So it says: "Don’t settle for what’s available! Choose the name you really want."
What? Don’t settle for what’s available? The reason they are running a .co ad IMO is because so many .co domains ARE available!
Technically, if the .co domain name that somebody visits GoDaddy to register, isn’t "available"… then they likely won’t be spending the $$$ to buy it!
Technically, you will have to settle for what’s available if you want to register a .co at GoDaddy or visit the aftermarket and buy the .com or .co that is already registered! 
Just like .com, all the "good" .co domain names are already registered. Many are for sale though in the domain name aftermarket right on GoDaddy, Sedo.com and Afternic.com to mention a few.
I would much rather see GoDaddy promote "Aftermarket Domains" than .co domains, but hopefully when people visit to see if Money.co or Business.co are "available" and see they are not.. they head on over to the aftermarket section on GoDaddy and find some of my .com domains for sale.
tricolorro
Jamie,
To me, GoDaddy’s contextual meaning of “Don’t settle for what’s available” is “Don’t settle for what’s left (in .coms)”
“I’d like a blue suit”
“We’re all out of blue”
“Okay, a black suit then”
“Sorry, we’re all out of black too”
“Well what colors do you have?”
“The only color available is the pink polka dot”
Jamie Zoch
@Tricolorro,
I agree that is likely what they are referring to
TeenDomainer
It will be really intresting to see what people say after the super bowl Will people scratch their heads and ask what .co is or will they register them an start websites on them.
Jamie Zoch
I agree Brian, it will be interesting to see. I’m sure it’s a risk to do it, but we know it hasn’t been done before, so we will see!
Joe
@Jamie
- – -
Just like .com, all the “good” .co domain names are already registered. Many are for sale though in the domain name aftermarket right on GoDaddy, Sedo.com and Afternic.com to mention a few.
- – -
Well, considering there are 95,000,000 .com’s vs only 650,000 .co’s registered, I wouldn’t say all the “good” .co domain names are already registered. There are still so many valuable and, most importantly, short keyword domains available in .co
Jamie Zoch
Another thing I just thought of… I wonder if the .co registry “helped pay for the upcoming GoDaddy .co Super Bowl ad”?
Ray Fields
GD makes $9 in profit on every .CO name as opposed to just a couple of dollars on a .COM
Still wondering why the hullabaloo…
em
@Jamie Zoch,
Yes, they paid for half of it or a portion, asI understand
.co is a new company, therefore I don’t see the commercial as much of a risk. What do they have to lose? Being a startup?
Chris Nielsen
I understand what they meant, but the truth is you have to settle for what is available unless you contact the owner and try to buy it from them. It’s bad marketing copy IMO.
At first I thought Godaddy was being way stupid, but now I see they and the .co registry are being stupid together. In my opinion it’s an over-priced, birth-defect TLD that’s doesn’t have all it’s parts…!
Then you see they are charging 3x as much for a defective domain, and how attractive is THAT? The will sell some, because the people that bought .mobi, .name, and .tel have short memories. I’d rather have a .cc at $20 or .ws for less.
There may be 95M .coms registered, but most of them must really suck because I don’t have ANY problems finding .com domains for projects and clients…! Call Me!