Hulu's online video Super Bowl ads

Hulu shared the "secret" behind its success in a television ad during the Super Bowl, and it was a tongue-in-cheek revelation, as we predicted last week. Alec Baldwin, the male lead on NBC's 30 Rock, told the audience that Hulu was designed by aliens to make certain that their plans to "turn our brains to mush" were carried out.

Hulu's ad can be viewed on its website, where it is ironically preceded by an additional web video ad. Now THAT'S optimizing monetization efforts -- running ads over your own Super Bowl ad, and making it funny enough to be stand-alone content.

It looks as though NBC wasn't content with the $206 million it reportedly made selling advertisement slots during the Big Game, as it is also hosting all of the ads on Hulu supported by, you guessed it, more advertising. Hulu wouldn't release numbers on how many people re-watched their favorite ad on the site, but it's safe to say that Hulu has generated a nice amount of traffic to its ad-supported ads, as colleagues kill time at work by debating which commercial stole the show Sunday night. Hulu spokesperson Brandon Boone said the site "had definitely seen a lift" in traffic due to the television commercial.

Hulu's Super Bowl ad is also notable as one of the first television advertisements promoting an online video company. Of course, it's likely Hulu didn't pay full price for the ad, given that NBC is one of its two main investors. 

For more:
- see the TechCrunch post here 

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