GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons reports that the NFL pressured FOX to can the second running of the GoDaddy.com ad during the Super Bowl telecast.
As you may have noticed our Super Bowl ad only appeared during the scheduled first quarter spot. It was scheduled to run also in the second ad position during the final two minute warning. Our ad never ran a second time. Instead, in its place, we saw an advertisement promoting “The Simpsons.”
The NFL persuaded FOX to pull our ad.
We immediately contacted Fox to find out what happened. Here’s what we were told: After our first ad was aired, the NFL became upset and they, together with Fox, decided to pull the ad from running a second time. Because we purchased two spots, we were also entitled to a “Brought to you by GoDaddy.com” 5 second marquis spot. They also chose to pull the marquis spot.Apparently a hot chick in a tank top is now too risque for the Super Bowl, though cleavage shots of an Eagles cheerleader (For TiVo’ers that’s 3:04 into the game recording with 7:52 to play in the 3rd quarter) is fine…
Direct video links…
Broadcast Ad (Windows Media) [2.78 MB]
Web only extended length ad (Windows Media) [7.39 MB]
Go see GoDaddy’s Super Bowl ad!
Update: In case you’re wondering who the female in the ad is, it’s WWE diva Candace Michelle. Not safe for work pictures of her here
Why go to all that trouble for Philly cheerleaders’ cleavage when the team website has it in abundance?
You might want to see this post I made on Gretchen Wilson’s performance just now.
You’re missing the point. The less pornographic type matter we have when we are MEANT TO BE WATCHING SPORT FOR ALL AGES the better!
I never thought I would hear decent consertative folk on the side of lewd pornography. Have some standards.
I have standards, Rob…. if she had a hot body, I want to see her.
I’ve been all over this. I mean…talking about it. Not that I was all over the model in the ad.
Not that I wouldn’t want to be. I’m just saying that I was. Talking. Not all over. Like I want to be. I mean…
*sigh*
My wife is about to kill me. 🙂
Rob, the spot was neither lewd nor pornographic, as Kevin stated in the post, the cheerleaders were wearing less then the GoDaddy Girl was. Conservatives are supposed to be against the government imposing themselves in our lives and yet here we have an instance where the NFL and FOX censored an ad that poked fun at censorship because they are worried about what the government (in the guise of the FCC) will do to them. Frankly it’s more irony then I can take at one time.
I would have to agree that this censorship has gone too far. I don’t want government in my wallet, I also don’t want government censoring non-pc material. There was nothing pornographic about the ad. For its satire, I think that it was the best ad since the Macintosh one in 1984.
Its not as bad as the Budweiser Janet Jackson ad.
Actually it was a stupid ad.
They were obviously trying to use the Jackson fiasco from last year. Poor acting and a stupid attempt to get attention for cheap domain name sales, do not make a good advertising campaign.
The NFL can pull anything they want from advertising on their broadcasts… if the ad had been on again, I would have just ignored it.
The soon to be forgotten goawaydad junk should have gotten some more grown-ups to help sell their product… too many teenagers in the room with not enough air to see how stupid the ad really was. They suffered the one of the worst curses of small business advertising – thinking your jokes are funny and not stopping soon enough.
Actually, it was a great ad. Too bad we’ve got to the point that the sight of a nice looking woman causes spasms of guilt, shame, and disbelief. It is just one more example (of many) of political correctness run amuk. Why don’t we just put all women in “burkas” and get it over with. What a pitiful state of affairs. It would be funny if it were not so godamn sad. As for me, I’ll do business with Godaddy.com any day of the week.
I thought the ad was hilarious, titillating and made a political statement all at the same time. It was well done and Go Daddy, had they not already been my registrar of choice, would be getting my business. As it is, I think they’re the hands-down best in the business.
The fact that they’re cool enough to make this ad just means I’m doing business with a company I can *like*.
Does it hurt when y’all pinch your asses that tight? I’m just asking…
NFL is full of crap, this ad has been circulating for days prior to the bowl along with all the other ads in order to hype them. For the NFL to claim it was offended after it was shown on the air is total bullshit.
I saw this ad on Fox News days before the Super Bowl.
NFL is two faced. But remember the grief they caused the “snake” for his tribute to a real American hero – Pat Tillman. NFL phonies.
‘They were obviously trying to use the Jackson fiasco from last year. Poor acting and a stupid attempt to get attention for cheap domain name sales, do not make a good advertising campaign.’
We’ll have to see about that.
This is something I don’t think the government should be getting involved in.
The NFL should police itself, and I think if they think something is inappropriate, they have every right to ask that it not be shown, although the certainly aren’t consistent, since cheerleaders don’t tend to be dressed all that modestly.
But the NFL is a private enterprise, and it can decide what is or isn’t appropriate for games. I just don’t want the FCC standing over their shoulders ready to hand out fine.
This whole business is pathetic. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the hysteria and panic that sexual innuendo is capable of creating in some people, especially those who have kids. Why are so many people ambivalent and conflicted about sex? Why the neurosis? Maybe I shouldn’t be mentioning this, but you are aware that your kids see nudity every time they take a leak, right? Not to mention when they see when they take a shower. I guess you can demand that they do both with the lights off, but that will surely get you added to their bozo list, if you’re not there already.
There is cause for concern when sex and sexuality is presented in a degrading or perverse way. I don’t think it would be a good idea for anyone with such little knowledge or understanding of sexual matters to be presented with a video on S&M and told “this is normal, everyone does this.” Sex is a normal and ordinary part of life and it should not be presented in an unnatural way. A 30 second commercial about a girl in a tank-top on the other hand, would only be considered “perverse” or unnatural in those places where women are subject to female “castration,” honor killings, forced marriages, and of course a lifetime sentence of house arrest. If you’d rather go raise your children, you daughters, in such a culture where they would be protected from the horrors of cleavage, be my guest.
I really get a lot out of reading Wizbang and the various comments. This one, though, I would like to chime in on. As a woman, I would like men to stop portraying themselves as users of females. I know that men are more than this, you are made for better things. Does anyone have a daughter? I do. She is beautiful and sincere. She attends a Catholic high school and wears a uniform – white oxford shirt and plaid skirt. I am trying to teach to respect all people, especially, her dad and men in general. There is so much out there pertraying men as stupid and shallow. When we go anywhere after school, men look at her in not really nice ways. I don’t know how else to say that. It looks like she is some “thing”. It is degrading and sad. As a family we have discussed it, but my point is this – I think it is best not to encourage this type of behavior. I know some will say – lighten up. But, again, as a woman, I simply ask you to consider being more respectful to women.
We’d all like to stop certain parts of human nature, but it’s never going to happen catherine.
Men have it inborn to look at females, you can’t stop it. If you want no one to look at your daughter, you’ll have to get a burka, in which case they’ll be looking at her, but for different reasons.
I’d like people to stop being asses, but that’s inborn as well and I’ve accepted the fact that I have to deal with it and can’t change the other 6 billion people.
I thought the ad sucked anyway and I don’t appreciate a disgustingly big busted woman standing up and dancing around or seeing all that cleavage. Once was enough. That stupid Blockbuster ad over and over was too much, too.
Cindy
I think our sexuality is an awesome part of human nature. but it doesn’t run us. I am a human being, not a human doing. I must say, though, that when i run into my many defects running wild, I have to pray for the Grace to be strong and wise. It is worth the effort because people are worth it. Respect and mercy towards others is better than anything I find advertised on tv. Again, thanks for responding to me Digger.
Rod, I don’t think the govt had anything to do with the pull of that ad.
I have to agree with a lot of people here, esp the women.
The ad was tasteless and with all the kids watching of every age, an ad like that shouldn’t have been played at all.
They should have left Charlie Daniels out there longer – at his age he can still sing. For once, Paul McCartney did a decent job as a halftime entertainment with those 4 floor lights and all but he’s another who should give it up and retire.
The funniest of all was Terry Bradshaw, who constantly laughs. I was pissed at him because he picked the Eagles to win but he was the one who had to hand the SuperBowl trophy to the Patriots for which I am thrilled; I knew they would win!
First the Red Sox, now the Patriots – what could be better? Nada. The Eagles are just not in the same category as the Patriots. NEW ENGLAND RULES.
Cindy
It’s less about human nature, and more about what is acceptable behavior in society. And, how about a little reality here: When your average 15 y/o girl sees a guy close to her father’s age ogling her, she wants to throw up.
I thought it was a dumb ad, but I also don’t think it was “indecent”. Sometimes I think ads of all kinds are an insult to one’s intelligence. Yeah, sex sells, blah, blah, blah. Now the Bud commercial was funny. When the pilot jumped out after the beer.
If I had to make a choice? I would take the godaddy ad and let’s gid rid of the “Can you hear me now?” guy. Damn, he gets on my last nerve!
I applaud the NFL for pulling the commercial. Why? Not because of some standards of lewdness. I’m glad because it was such a stupid, poorly done commercial.
I wish most of those commercials were pulled and replaced with simpsons ads….
“Maybe I shouldn’t be mentioning this, but you are aware that your kids see nudity every time they take a leak, right? “
There is this little word called context. Nakedness in the context of bathing, showering, using the bathroom etc is totally different from how it is done on TV and in various commercials TV shows.
Mostly I admit I choose to turn this stuff off. I don’t think the government needs to be a nanny, but I do think broadcast company’s and advertisors should police themselves, and think a moment about what is or isn’t appropriate for certain shows based on the intended audience.
I guess I don’t see the NFL choosing to remove and ad as the same thing as the government choosing to do it, I would like to see shows do more of the former, and the government to pretty much to let it alone.
I’m glad they pulled the ad. It was stupid, nothing more than gratuitous sex. No, they didn’t show bare breasts or people having sex – that’s not the point. If adults watching the game want to see a stripper gyrating go to your local sex club – or turn on Cinemax. Time and place people, there is a time and place for everything. A nationally broadcast sporting event that organizers and advertisers know will be watched by children is neither the time nor the place for such a tasteless and tacky ad.
The party where I was watching the game overwhelmingly LIKED the ad. (I was hoping to see it again.) It was especially funny because of the Jackson fiasco, fresh in every one’s mind.
As for men respecting women? Come on. Give me ten guys that want to see a hot chick, and I show you ten hot chicks lining up for the money to do it.
Why was there no moral outrage over the Queer guy swooning over the Pepsi man?
Let’s think – how many people knew what Godaddy.com was before the Superbowl and how many do now?
I thought the ad sucked too. (btw, I liked the Bud Light ad that was pulled.)
The NFL didn’t want the ad pulled because of the clevage. It was because of the same reason they didn’t like the Bud spot… it was a spoof of an event that was a bad PR black-eye for the NFL. They want to put that behind them and don’t appreciate advertisements running ads that remind people of the event that caused the term “wardrobe malfunction” to enter our lexicon. If the ad were on par with the old Swedish Bikini Team ads, I doubt the NFL would have minded.
“Let’s think – how many people knew what Godaddy.com was before the Superbowl and how many do now?”
Probably about the same number as heard of pets.com!
I agree with Catherine, Julie, and Sean.
Digger, the point is that it has become too much. We are saturated in sex on TV. And it all has to do with making men smile. Even to the point of giving the impression that using women is ok.
It is truly at the point now where most 14 and 15 yr olds feel they must dress and act sexy to be noticed. That is socity’s fault and it is just wrong. Any movement I see toward getting away from that is good.
Lets leave the sexy stuff to the adults, and where adults are ONLY. How about it?
Obviously they wanted to create a buzz and it seems like they were successful. I’m not an advertising critic so I can’t comment on whether it was well done or poorly done. I’ve got to laugh at the bluenoses getting all worked up about it. Obviously it was tongue-in-cheek but it doesn’t take much to get their panties in a bunch. We had our football banquet down at Gillette last weekend and there was an appearance by the Patriot cheerleaders. Thankfully the NFL didn’t forbid them from coming so the little kids would never see them. Oh the humanity!
I must disagree with plenty of the women who posted here. Sure, I have two sisters, and I know what I look for in a woman (models after my sisters, classy girls who are still modest). However, Rightwingsparkle:”It is truly at the point now where most 14 and 15 yr olds feel they must dress and act sexy to be noticed”
I read recently an article in the USA Today about “moms” who felt like they had to be trendy. One of them was too embarressed to drop her kid off at school if her hair wasn’t right, she dropped him off in the alley! another mother always did breakfast “dolled up” wearing high heels. And you think kids see that shit on TV?
The rest of you women. I watched the whole advertisement, and I agree that the entire thing was a little too much, even for me. However, the POINT of the advertisement was a statement AGAINST the overblown way that people “censor” things. All I saw in the ad was a tanktop. The only skin you see is what is revealed by a tank top, nothing more. All that happens is the strap breaks, woo big deal.
I thought the advertisement was funny and stirring (by stirring I mean it poked fun at politics and society’s norms). If you want another one where they don’t show any chick wearing a suit, here is a link to the advertisement that I mentioned earlier. It was a Budweiser advertisement that never made it to the air. THAT one definitely poked fun @ the Janet Jackson thing, and it was tasteful in that you don’t see ANYTHING at all.
Are you women really TRYING to wear burkas?
Of course we expect that there will be the few asshole men that ogle women everywhere. Most men respect women. If you can’t accept that, you might as well move to Afghanistan (where men don’t respect women so much, they used to have to wear burkas).
So the point of not having sexy ads on during the Superbowl is so they won’t interfere with the family-oriented event which features a bunch of big guys beating the crap out of each other, with multiple injuries during a given game that would put the average person in the hospital?
The two big stories of SB 2005? One guy who was playing after major hip surgery (it was smashed earlier in the season) and another who was playing on a foot that was effectively bolted together.
Jiggly breasts? Shocking!
Of course we expect that there will be the few asshole men that ogle women everywhere.
Henry, it’s not always limited to just a few assholes and we are not talking about ogling women but girls. Think about having sex with your mother. That’s akin to the feelings girls feel when geezers (which could be in the 20s on up) hit on them.
I read recently an article in the USA Today about “moms” who felt like they had to be trendy. One of them was too embarressed to drop her kid off at school if her hair wasn’t right, she dropped him off in the alley! another mother always did breakfast “dolled up” wearing high heels. And you think kids see that shit on TV?
I have been a mom almost 18 years now and have lived in 4 cities and have never experienced moms like that. Must be LA.
Just because men find women sexually appealing does not mean that we look at them as objects. Admittedly there are some cretins who do, but they’re bad apples that give the rest of us a bad name. For a man to notice and even being visibly affected by physical beauty does not mean that we see women as anything less than human beings worthy of respect.
As for this ad, I don’t think she was all that attractive to begin with. Unlike some men, I was not bottle fed as an infant. I’m not stuck in some pitiful infantile stage of development when it comes to my thoughts and feelings about breasts. I could care less how big they are. Women who get boob jobs are boobs themselves because any guy who is going to care isn’t worth having.
Show me any woman and the first thing I want to know is does she have any brains, and secondly, do they work reliably. In other words, is she smart and is she sane. If the answers to those two questions is yes, then everything else is gravy. Obviously if she’s cute that is certainly nothing to complain about, but I’ll choose brains and emotional stability over beauty any day of the week and twice on sundays. Choosing a woman based on looks is like choosing a car based on the paint-job, it’s whats under the hood that counts.
As for the girl in the catholic school uniform, she might as well be going out in lingerie. The effect is going to be much the same. Seriously, I don’t know who came up with those uniforms, but they are among the most enticing things a young woman can possibly wear without getting arrested. Catholic girls in general have something of a sordid reputation, and those who go to parochial schools are especially infamous. Your daughter may not live up (or down) to that reputation, but that doesn’t mean she is not affected by it. If you don’t want guys noticing your daughter, bring along a change of clothes. Like it or not we are judged by our appearance and we don’t often get to choose how a particular appearance is judged. The only thing we can do is be aware of the judgements that various appearances create, and shape our own appearance accordingly.
Lee, I totally agree about the schoolgirl uniforms. I went to a Catholic High school, and let me tell you, whew. I especially loved the way the cheerleaders, who had those muscular thighs, I loved how their skirts were pushed by their thighs…whew, I’m having too much fun remembering, hah.
I also was bottle fed, I don’t understand the tit-fetish that many men get. If anything, I prefer proportional breasts (those weren’t proportional).
And Julie, I understand the sentiment, I remember the first time I saw my own mother naked…I had trouble going to sleep for weeks. That wasn’t my point , though. I agree that “ogling” girls is out of the question, I find it rather tasteless what MTV, Seventeen, Cosmo-Girl, and all those glossy things show that today’s teenager girls must wear. I mean, c’mon, 11 year olds with a bare midriff? Heck I’m not a huge fan of the bare midriff, anyway. It doesn’t matter much what the girl wears as long as she carries it.
Besides, I much prefer the girl have a sense of humor. If she can laugh at my jokes, and she can make me laugh in return, I’m sold.
Btw, Rightwingsparkle, You need to think about those who have been moms less than ten years. Different generation.
(By the way, really great letters to the editor followed in the USA Today. I don’t think its online, we get it free on campus – The writer expressed concern over the return to 50’s style motherhood. Another one expressed concern that any mother dropping her kids in an alleyway…doesn’t deserve kids.)
“It is truly at the point now where most 14 and 15 yr olds feel they must dress and act sexy to be noticed. That is socity’s fault and it is just wrong”
Is it? Or is it their parents’ fault? Or MTV?
‘Think about having sex with your mother. ‘
WTF? Looking at hotties is the same as incest? You’ve got some issues to work out.
“It is truly at the point now where most 14 and 15 yr olds feel they must dress and act sexy to be noticed. That is socity’s fault and it is just wrong”
Is it? Or is it their parents’ fault? Or MTV?”
Blame Canada!
I agree that it is pretty sad, but trying to find a simple cause like MTV for such a complex social phenomena is like saying that table-fans are the direct cause of thunderstorms.
A woman can’t be so intelligent or educated or talented that I wouldn’t want to fuck her.
Howard Stern announced today that Bob Parsons, President of godaddy.com will be a guest on his LIVE radio show Thursday morning February. 10th, to talk about the ad and why FOX/NFL censored the original full length version.
By the way, the godaddy.com girl will also be making an appearance. Should be some good stuff. Tune in.
men are creature with 2 organs…brain and dick…and blood flows in only one direction…
1. Men like ogling women.
2. Women like being ogled by men. Proof of this is available every time you go to a mall, nightclub, or even at work. You see that most women like being viewed with a degree of appreciation for their appearance. How else do men become interested in having a conversation with a woman? No one ever discovered a great personality or fantastic mind from across the street.
3. Women like ogling men – they’re just not as obvious about it.
4. The NFL may be a private company, FOX may be a private company, but the airwaves are strictly public domain, which is why the FCC regulates them, NOT the content providers.
Hey, you know the Super Bowl is REALLY violent. How about we pull the play-action shots as they are far more damaging to society than the risqué ads. Of course, we could still watch the announcers recap the plays afterwards.
Toaster has a very good point, nobody said anything about the violence, and all of ITs glory. Yet, this beautiful young lady didnt show anything other than some ‘suggestive’ behaviour. Since when was it immoral to suggest … its the dirty minds that make this commercial immoral. Job well done. Hats off to the young performer. She did remarkably well. This commercial got the attention it aimed for, and evryone against it just made it all the more successful.
Candice Michelle AKA Miss GoDaddy is all nude at http://www.missgodaddy.com