Happy Grad was created for, and aired on, a global platform, initially on a dedicated MSN microsite, then via Facebook. This makes it difficult to describe the exact situation for branded content. Happy Grad was the winner of a user-generated contest run for Chevrolet to find a Super Bowl ad. It was the first contest of its kind that was open to anyone from anywhere around the globe, the contest received almost 200 entries from Brazil to South Africa. However it would be fair to describe user generated content as sometimes being regarded as being sub-standard, or a fad, Happy Grad was critically well received, made the top 10 of the Ad-Bowl meter and was just outside of the top 10 of the USA Today Ad Meter poll, garnering Chevrolet one of its best Super Bowl results ever.

The audience was driven to Happy Grad in a variety of ways. It featured, as did 34 other films, on a dedicated microsite that incentivised visitors to watch and share, the most dedicated sharer receiving a $10,000 prize. Happy Grad was premiered prior to the Super Bowl, driving views to Chevrolet's YouTube Channel to see the full 60-second version.There was an extensive PR campaign tied into the new trend of teasing and revealing Super Bowl ads before game day. The post game day, when Happy Grad aired during the second quarter, the 30-second film featured on the USA Today Facebook Ad meter poll, attracting more views and likes.

The campaign was reviewed as being incredibly successful by the client and a second contest is planning for Super Bowl LXVII.

The 35 finalist videos received over 500m views combined, and Happy Grad has over 1.3m combined views on YouTube, plus the audience of the Super Bowl.

Perhaps the most important outcome is that Zach Borst, the writer and director behind Happy Grad, received job offers within 24 hours of the Super Bowl, helping him in his chosen career as a film maker.