Super Bowl ads cost millions of dollars for just a 30-second spot. Not to mention the additional costs to produce high-quality commercials complete with celebrity appearances and excellent production values to make it worthy of airing on one of the biggest nights on television. Unfortunately, some commercials still miss the mark completely.
One commercial by GoDaddy had its plug pulled because of its seemingly apathetic message toward animal rescue and pet ownership. Following some emotionally charged criticism toward the ad, the company decided to halt the airing of the spot in lieu of a more humorous one that it says would make everyone laugh -- sans the controversy.
The ad, which GoDaddy posted on YouTube before it was taken down, featured a cute Labrador puppy falling off the back of his owner's truck and making his way back home. Although he was greeted with a hug, he soon learned that he was sold online (on a GoDaddy hosted site, naturally.)
Some animal rights activists called the ad "cruel and irresponsible" and set up a petition to stop its distribution, which garnered over 42,000 signatures.
In response, GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving took to Twitter to apologize for the ad.
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
This is not the first time that GoDaddy has gotten into hot water over their Super Bowl ad. A spot in 2013 featured model Bar Refaeli smooching an "awkward and unattractive nerd." The response to the commercial was mostly negative. This year's puppy ad was the company's attempt to redeem itself, which apparently did not go as planned.
Other companies have also shown poor taste in their Super Bowl ads. Here are five other memorable ads from Super Bowls past, which we wish we could forget.
Asian stereotypes galore in Salesgenie's 2008 ad:
Robot suicide in General Motors' depressing 2007 spot:
Love Hurts, and so does mysogyny, but Pepsi's 2011 ad must have missed that memo:
This Fantasy Greeting Cards video was pulled off the 2011 lineup before it could be aired. With a sexist message of upgrading your wife for a younger, hotter model, it's not hard to see why.
Holiday Inn's 1997 billion dollar renovations are like having a sex change? Creative... But, yeah, we don't get it either.
