Danica Patrick was disappointed that she didn’t get to be in another GoDaddy Super Bowl ad this year.
Her sponsor, GoDaddy, always has great Super Bowl ads. Some of them are a little controversial, not because of their message, but because of
Danica Patrick’s lack of clothing.
This year’s ad also felt the sting of controversy, but for a completely different reason.
The ad featured a golden retriever puppy who went to extraordinary lengths to find his way home. When his owner finds him, she is relieved. Not because she loves the puppy, but because she has already sold him through a website built with GoDaddy.
Danica Patrick was to appear as the buyer, driving away with the puppy.
Well, needless to say, pro-animal rights activists took issue with the commercial.
They said the GoDaddy ad promoted the online sale of animals and was just plain offensive in its premise.
However, Danica Patrick was left feeling jaded.
She said, “I don’t think anything in this culture surprises me anymore. People have opinions about everything and especially when you get into that world of animal rights or tree rights or whatever rights, they all have an opinion.”
GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving blogged about the ad being scrapped due to an “emotional response” from the public. He was sure to let everyone know that Buddy, the golden retriever, “came to us from a reputable and loving breeder in California. He’s now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer, and he lives permanently with one of our longtime employees.”
Thank you @animalrescuers for the candid feedback. What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it.
— Blake Irving (@Blakei) January 27, 2015
Danica Patrick admitted that she found and bought her dog, a Miniature Siberian Husky named Dallas, online.
“I looked to find my dog online,” she said. “Sorry. I did. I love my dog and I take great care of her.”
What do you think? Did GoDaddy do the right thing by pulling the ad or do you think animal rights activists were overreacting?