GoDaddy has decided to pull its Super Bowl advert which featured a cruel story about a lost puppy after receiving backlash from animal lovers.
- Jan 28, 2015
AceShowbiz - GoDaddy has pulled its commercial starring Danica Patrick which featured a cruel story about a lost puppy. The advert has received backlash from animal lovers since it was debuted on "Today" on Tuesday, January 27.
The ad begins with three puppies riding in the back of a truk. One of the puppies, who is looking out from the bed of the truck, is thrown out when the truck hits a rock. The puppy then faces a hard journey home across train tracks, bridges and through mud and rain.
When arriving home, the puppy runs towards its owner but the owner says, "Look! It's Buddy! I'm so glad you made it home, because I just sold you on this website I built with GoDaddy." The owner exclaims, "Ship them out," before sending the puppy in a car driven by Danica.
GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving tweeted later on the day that the ad would be pulled. He wrote, "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's tweet was a response to @animalrescuers' posting which read, "If you can buy a puppy online and have it shipped to you the next day, it's likely you're supporting inhumane breeding. #GoDaddyPuppy."
There is also a Change.org petition made to remove the controversial ad. The petition, which has racked up over 42,000 signatures, states, "Whether or not this was meant to be satirical, it's offensive. Essentially, Go Daddy is encouraging private breeding/puppy mills while shelter animals wait patiently for their forever homes or worse - to be euthanized...Animal rights are no laughing matter and to portray them as such as cruel and irresponsible."
