Agency Work

Superb Owl Activation Rallies Big Game Advertisers to Aid Australian Wildlife

Meme turned activist reviews game day ads for a cause
February 2, 2020

With “Superb Owl” being the most mistyped online search term around the Super Bowl, Partners + Napier introduced @SuperbOwl_Saves via Twitter during the Big Game on Feb. 2 to help aid Australian wildlife affected by that country’s devastating bushfires.

Superb Owl is a part-time ad connoisseur, full-time humanitarian. This internet meme turned activist supported his fellow animals across the sea by donating his time to review Sunday’s best spots – and help raise money for World Wildlife Fund’s Bushfire Emergency.

In the 24 hours during and following the Big Game, Superb Owl generated 1.03MM impressions, and 317 engagements with a 2.9% engagement rate- significantly exceeding the Twitter benchmark of 0.048%. In addition, a donation and interaction with Honda helped garner an estimated $10,000+ in donations. All of this was achieved with zero paid media spend and organic outreach.

So why Superb Owl? There are 11 species of owls in Australia, plus thousands of other animals impacted by the fires who desperately need help.

“Partners + Napier’s sister agency in Australia — Dig + Fish — reached out to ask for help in any way possible, so instead of a typical agency review of Super Bowl spots, the team decided to take action instead,” said Chief Creative Officer Rob Kottkamp.

Following are a few sample tweets that took wing during the Super Bowl based on the pre-release of some of the spots. “Mostly the reactions of the Superb Owl will be in real time as the unexpected always unfolds during an experience like this,” added Kottkamp.

Read more about the Superb Owl on Ad Age, The Drum, and the 4A’s.