At the risk of "piling on" to the criticism of GoDaddy's wayward Super Bowl television commercial, I want to comment not just on the commercial, but on the process that allows these commercials to get approved and produced (at great expense).
If you haven't seen the commercial, it is a spoof on a classic Budweiser tv spot, but with a twisted and unhappy ending involving a very cute puppy dog. To view the spot, click here. GoDaddy has a reputation for producing ads which push the envelope in terms of good taste. In this case, they decided to take on cute puppy dogs with a bizarre story line. Anyone in advertising can tell you that cute children and cute animals are pretty much sacrosanct in terms of commercial portrayals. I'm sure that, in the boardroom, the creative team said the ad would push the envelope and create a buzz. In fact, it pushed the envelope so far that there was a firestorm of protest and the buzz that it created caused the company to pull the ad.
I don't know what the production cost was, but it had to be in the high six figures.
There are some that may argue that any "buzz" is good. But if you have a choice, why not create a buzz that contributes favorably to the brand and its image?
Another case of the need for adult supervision in advertising.
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