Build it, and they will run. There in a nutshell is the lesson for domain service and web host GoDaddy, which thought it would be cute to do a Super Bowl ad featuring a puppy dog. The 30-second spot, titled “Journey Home,” features the plight of a lovable little pooch that is accidentally separated from his family on the highway and makes his way back home. But the commercial’s ending, which provides the hook to the company’s services, didn’t sit all that well with early viewers, prompting the company to pull it — but not before it began its ascent toward virality.
Yesterday, the company published the following mea culpa on its website:
This morning we previewed GoDaddy’s Super Bowl spot on a popular talk show, and shortly after a controversy started to swirl about Buddy, our puppy…. The responses were emotional and direct. Many people urged us not to run the ad…. The net result? We are pulling the ad from the Super Bowl. You’ll still see us in the Big Game this year, and we hope it makes you laugh. Finally, rest assured, Buddy 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’s been adopted permanently by one of our longtime employees.”
USA Today offered an assortment of comments from Twitter users. Here are a few:
So glad that GoDaddy is NOW not going to air ‘lost-puppy’ Super Bowl ad…disturbing that they thought it was clever #GoDaddyPuppy #notfunny
— Cathleen M. Hunt (@CathleenMHunt) January 28, 2015
Glad #GoDaddyPuppy ad was pulled from #SuperBowlXLIX #AnimalRights #adoptdontshop #dontbuywhileothersdie #share pic.twitter.com/iOZbwnoKNe
— Fort McMurray SPCA (@FMSPCA) January 28, 2015
@GoDaddy you should also make a donation to the @ASPCA #GoDaddyPuppy
— Ashlie Dranginis (@adranginis) January 28, 2015
So what’s all the fuss about? Here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH5wdm1Caoo
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