Dog Lovers Boycott GoDaddy for 'Insensitive' Super Bowl Commercial They Say Promotes Puppy Mills

By Wendy Ann Mitchell

Maryland viewers are among those who took to social media with the hash tag #BoycottGoDaddy after the company released what they called an “insensitive” commercial.

The CEO of GoDaddy has decided to pull the Super Bowl spot they were going to air after a firestorm of objection was hurled at the company on social media, according to AdAge.com.

The commercial shows a cute puppy being thrown from the back of a pickup truck. The pooch overcomes obstacles to finally make it him into the loving arms of its owner. Sounds good so far, right? But what ruffled the feathers of animal activists and animal lovers was how it ended-- with the owner saying she is glad he came home because she just sold him online with the helop of GoDaddy.

Twitter users used the hash tag #BoycottGoDaddy to voice their objection:

• OL’s Mama ‏@OLSMama08 “ @GoDaddy @MKelleyBlog no reason to hate your company before this. Was it worth it to repulse people #boycottGoDaddy:
• Adriana Lissette ‏@flowerac “Go daddy.com was stupid for making that commercial #boycottGoDaddy”
• Jackie Bigford ♥ˆ◡ˆ♥ ‏@JackiesBuzz “ @GoDaddy FAIL : Remove the Super Bowl 2015 Commercial via @Change http://chn.ge/1zrqcbo #STOPPuppyMILLS#BoycottGoDaddy #PRfail”

Click here to read more Tweets.

What do you think of GoDaddy’s commercial? Do you think it promotes puppy mills? Tell us in the comments.

Facebook users said:

Nature’s Pet Salem ”GO DADDY SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL PROMOTES PUPPY MILLS. With over 10,000 puppy mills in the US and an epidemic of puppies being sold online by these millers…. Go Daddy thinks this is funny. Please take a minute and let Go Daddy know that they are trivializing and actually promoting buying a puppy online. We have to stand up for the dogs… because this is not funny.”

In a blog post titled “We’re Listening, Message Received,” Blake Irving said, “At the end of the day, our purpose at GoDaddy is to help small businesses around the world build a successful online presence. We hoped our ad would increase awareness of that cause. However, we underestimated the emotional response. And we heard that loud and clear.”

Irving also stated that GoDaddy got the puppy used for the ad, ”Buddy,” from “a reputable and loving breeder in California.” According to Blake, Buddy is ”now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer and he lives permanently with one of our longtime employees.”