All is fair in the world of Super Bowl commercials, but there's one thing you don't mess with: puppies.
Web hosting company GoDaddy found out the hard way, after it decided to pull a commercial which critics say promotes the use of illegal puppy mills, according to USA Today.
The commercial stars Buddy, a Golden Retriever puppy, who falls off a truck on the way home, but reunites with his owner after a long journey. Sounds sweet, right? Well, not for long. Buddy's owner turns out to be a breeder who sells him using a website she created through GoDaddy.
According to Time magazine, the commercial is meant to parody Budweiser's famous #bestbuds commercials, but animal lovers and advocates aren't finding it funny. Critics sounded off on social media after GoDaddy released its Super Bowl commercial Tuesday.
While some clearly aren't happy with the commercial, other's were more accepting of the company's dark humour.
Following the criticism, GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving announced in a blog post that the ad will no longer air, saying the company "underestimated the emotional response" people had. Irving maintains his company will still be in the Super Bowl but didn't elaborate on what that meant.
He also explained that Buddy came from a reputable breeder in California and has since been adopted by one of the company's employees.
Do you think this commercial crosses a line? Watch it above and tell us what you think.
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Web hosting company GoDaddy found out the hard way, after it decided to pull a commercial which critics say promotes the use of illegal puppy mills, according to USA Today.
The commercial stars Buddy, a Golden Retriever puppy, who falls off a truck on the way home, but reunites with his owner after a long journey. Sounds sweet, right? Well, not for long. Buddy's owner turns out to be a breeder who sells him using a website she created through GoDaddy.
According to Time magazine, the commercial is meant to parody Budweiser's famous #bestbuds commercials, but animal lovers and advocates aren't finding it funny. Critics sounded off on social media after GoDaddy released its Super Bowl commercial Tuesday.
The #GoDaddyPuppy ad is tasteless and horrid. No one should be that heartless when it comes to living creatures. @GoDaddy #fail #nodaddy
— julianne✦ (@harrysxxqueen) January 28, 2015@GoDaddy I host my website & email through you. I was renewing Friday - you done gone jacked that up now didn't you. #GoDaddyPuppy
— tracimariePhoto (@tracimariePhoto) January 28, 2015#GoDaddyPuppy ad made me decide pull my animal rescue sites with them. If you use them for #rescue I hope you do the same
— Tara Harper (@TaraHarper01) January 28, 2015While some clearly aren't happy with the commercial, other's were more accepting of the company's dark humour.
#frenchtoast the #frenchie fully supports the new #GoDaddyPuppy ad & wishes you would all just chill out a little :) pic.twitter.com/SOSfIOD7Ga
— Jared A Levy (@jaredalevy) January 28, 2015I don't see why people are offended by the #GoDaddyPuppy commercial. I thought it was really funny.
— Steven Crotty (@CrottySteven) January 28, 2015Following the criticism, GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving announced in a blog post that the ad will no longer air, saying the company "underestimated the emotional response" people had. Irving maintains his company will still be in the Super Bowl but didn't elaborate on what that meant.
He also explained that Buddy came from a reputable breeder in California and has since been adopted by one of the company's employees.
Do you think this commercial crosses a line? Watch it above and tell us what you think.
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