Why it matters: Last night's Super Bowl broadcast was filled with the sort of big-budget commercials we've come to expect during the annual championship game. There's usually at least one spot from a newcomer that aims to make a statement, often by keeping its message short and sweet. Last night, that advertiser was Reddit.

The commercial opened like your ordinary automotive spot but quickly transitioned to Reddit's message, which opened with, "Wow, this actually worked."

In the brief message, Reddit said it spent its entire marketing budget on five seconds of airtime before pointing out that underdogs can accomplish "just about anything when they come together around a common idea."

Reddit's commercial was in reference to the chaos that its /WallStreetBets subreddit has caused in the stock market over the past few weeks. By banding together, day traders were able to create short squeezes on stocks like GameStop and AMC, driving the price way up and putting short-sellers in a tough position.

Whether or not Reddit's Super Bowl commercial will have much of an impact remains to be seen. Looking at the share values of companies the subreddit targeted, most hit their peak value on January 27 and are way down since. We'll find out soon enough as the markets open in less than an hour.

Masthead credit Alexander Image