The Godaddy.com Super Bowl commercial has been released and as promised for the first time features a dog, name buddy, with a VERY brief appearance by Danica Patrick
Although there are no sexy, barely clothed women, I would say this commercial is as risky a commercial as the company has ever run on the Super Bowl.
Other Godaddy.com Super Bowl ads have been Risque, but I think this is just risky IMHO.
When I say risky I think there maybe a lot of push back on this commercial from the public. I also really don’t see how it will motivate people to use Godaddy to register domain names or use Godaddy to set up their business using their web builder tools.
Having said that here is the commercial judge for yourself and vote on our poll on the right, whether you love it or hate it.
***UPDATE*** Go Daddy has decided they will not air the commercial
Wow! Dump! Stupid! Waste!
Reminds me of hunting elephants…
Disgusting and shameful!!
Cute.
“…motivate people to use Godaddy to register domain names…”
Nobody wants domain names. Nobody who is going to be motivated to do anything by a Super Bowl commercial anyway. They don’t even say “domain name” in the commercial. She mentions, as an aside to the story, “..this website I built with GoDaddy”. Small businesses, or folks with home-based businesses, want “a website where I can sell stuff”, GoDaddy sells packages to do that.
Now, sure, if you know a thing or two about puppy mills, it’s an obscene business. But most people are blissfully unaware of them, and think their overpriced inbred “pure breed” dog came from some idyllic country farm. They also think their bacon came from a similar place, and not a tiny shit-filled box in a “confined animal feeding operation” where most pork is grown. But, hey, you want to be a cold-hearted keen-eyed calculating business person? Get thee to GoDaddy.
As a message, that works.
What’s tangentially amusing to political junkies is that the business is “Gabby’s Goldens”. In 2010, GoDaddy PAC contributed to Jesse Kelly, a Congressional candidate who held a fundraiser billed as “Get on target to remove Gabrielle Giffords from office – shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly”. Of course, Gabby Giffords was eventually removed from office via the Second Amendment. So, in a relative sense, an Arizona business turning an alliterative play on the name “Gabby” rates higher on the “Oy” scale than the humorous twist on the “lost puppy” story.
Risque has always been a marketing tactic for GoDaddy. It works.
However, I’d like to know what makes this risky over their risque commercials?
There are a lot of feminists who are adamant about the sexual depiction of the female body. Is that not risky to do? Of course not. It creates controversy.
Now, there is a puppy that was lost and sold. It is being called a risky move. However, it has the attention of the media before even being played on the Super Bowl itself.
Risky commercial? Sure, but what hasn’t GoDaddy done that hasn’t been risky to avoid serious repercussions? Not a single thing. In fact, everything they have done is doing exactly what they want: get coverage.
I see a lot of disgust in discussion around this commercial by domain investors. So I pose to you, if this commercial is to play, would you transfer all of your domains from GoDaddy to another registrar or still continue to use them? If your answer is to transfer, then yes, it may be risky. However, let’s keep in mind that we are not their only target audience.
Seriousness aside, since Buddy was sold in this unreleased commercial, is this saying that he was canned as the Chief Companion Officer?
“I see a lot of disgust in discussion around this commercial by domain investors.”
I think the “ick” factor is from dog lovers more than domain investors. The homesick lost dog makes a heroic effort to get back, only to be shipped out. More people like dogs than know what domain names are. Of course, a whole lot of people like money more than anything else.
I don’t know where people think most commercially-sold dogs come from. I’ve only taken in strays, and can’t imagine why people pay money for dogs when shelters are overflowing with them, but people do all kinds of things that don’t make sense to me.
Exactly John first rule of the Internet don’t screw with cute puppies, kittens or babies.
The problem is Godaddy chose a small ad agency that has no experience with Super Bowl commercials. They went from the powerhouse Deutsch Inc. to BFG9000. Huge mistake.
You would think that a company that makes their money from domain names would have known better than to hire a company that goes by the name BFG9000 but doesn’t even own the domain name.
I’m just guessing at the numbers here..
1 out of 1 million people are domain aficionados
1 out of 20 thousand people are passionate about web design
1 out of 10 people care about business in general
Yet…
1 out of 2 people are dog lovers
Not a great strategy for them. Will be very interesting to see how it goes. I know two people who will probably chew my ear off about this… And I have nothing to do with GoDaddy.
Just saw this ad posted; the poor puppy, gets lost, finds his way home only to discover he was sold via the internet (w/ race car driver Danica Patrick driving the van); then saw a post about the owner of GoDaddy hosting African hunting expeditions. Incidentally, yesterday I was looking to buy a domain and was seriously contemplating GoDaddy, but I have now changed my mind. I can not in good conscious support such things…any company that promotes back yard breeding, selling dogs etc, or uses profits to kill helpless animals, will NOT get my money (and as a reporter, I am obligated to spread that message). this ad disgusts me, and every dog lover out there!
This GoDaddy Super Bowl commercial is downright disgusting and irresponsible! And I don’t care how it was made, the perception and message it sends is harmful and reckless! If this is your domain, I hope you’ll consider changing it,. In real life that puppy would have been hit or hurt. I find it most repulsive! You should be ashamed…no way would I buy a truck from the company also 🙁
Worst Super Bowl ad ever — but that’s me, as I’m a major dog lover, have owned rescue dogs, and detest puppy mills. I also though the set-up manipulation was deceptive and crass: 1) imitating the popular Super Bowl ad of last year, with puppy and the “Let Her Go” soundtrack, then flipping that angle with the no-nonsense “ship him out” puppy mill owner in this ad.
Expect Godaddy to get a lot of negative press and blowback for this ad — but maybe that was the idea. GoDaddy threw out the puppy with the message — “Puppy Love”. The old rule of advertising — don’t harm, shame, trick or malign pets or children. In this case, Godaddy tricked its audience — fail! But then again, I’m biased, as per my position above.
I’m with you all the way. Happy endings get more positive results. And being a major pet lover myself, and I would say there are lots of us, this was just uncaring. He should have been loved and maybe shown a lost dog ad and ‘Go Daddy’ was the website that posted it. Then this helped him be found. Something other than ‘ship him off’. This actually made me angry.
Not Good
How did they sold the dog when the dog was missing? How can you sell something when you don’t have it?cause when the dog got home he was already sold.
This transmits a bad message.
He took so many risks after getting thrown out of the truck, which I felt was cruel to do. (or act like it happened) He tried so hard to get ‘home’. Then he made it, and being a little pup that must be extremely smart to do this commercial, and was happy to see mom. Then she just ‘shipped him off’. Bad ending, uncaring, unnecessary. I would have liked a happy ending, if even showing his new ‘mom’ taking him home, instead of a van driving off.. That is so impersonal. Dogs are not ‘things’. And I heard this little pup is from Phoenix, that I am proud of, that he did get a good home here.
That’s pretty tasteless, for sure.
Classic Godaddy PR.. get everybody talking about their commercial pre-superbowl then show the REAL commercial where the puppy-mill gets theirs in the end, on Superbowl Sunday .. nobody would be dumb enough to launch an add that unhappy and make it “the official ad” .. especially godaddy
When you see Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial you will understand why the “lost puppy” idea is used in GoDaddy;s latest blunder.
Frank
Even if your right the 6 days that Godaddy will suffer with the worst PR of all time isn’t worth the “benefit” they might get with a new ending
As a Pats fan thank god there is something that now finally knocked out the stupid PSI of a football off the front page for the rest of the week
All the attention, the bad publicity now all belongs to the dog kickers, dog sellers and puppy throwers which Godaddy proudly claims.
Still predict this will go down as one of the worse marketing moves of all time/
Heading out on Thursday to AZ to cheer on the Pats, Brady and Bill to kick ass, set some records and now they are out of the “dog house” pun intended
If you look closely, the dog appears to have been deflated by 2 psi at some point.
The Outrage Works: Godaddy Follows Our Advice & Pulls The #Godaddypuppy Super Bowl Ad
http://www.thedomains.com/2015/01/27/the-outrage-works-godaddy-follows-our-advice-pulls-the-godaddypuppy-super-bowl-ad/
Sexist ads all these years, followed by Elephant hunting and now this kind of ad.
Wow ! Great !!!
The ad agency and all those involved in visualization, creation, approval are indeed very “creative “. They created uproar of elephantine proportions. The only good thing that came out of this PR disaster is that good sense prevailed, big egos notwithstanding. And the ad was pulled out before it is too late.
Atleast they did something right. Finally.