Is it too late for a cemetery owner to perform crisis communications after employees at the cemetery dug up graves and resold plots for cash?

Danica Patrick is so deperate for any publicity she'd drop her drawers at the start/finish line at the Daytona 500. Lack of Judgement sounds about right to me. Danica, I think a spread (and I do mean spread) in Screw magazine would be perfect for you.

GoDaddy essentially sells a commodity, so its ad strategy is just to create buzz and get its name out there. There are not features or beneifts that help it brand itself as better than the competition. As someone said here, it's an ad strategy from the '70s - Sex sells.

I thought the ad was a hoot, and I'm female. Danica Patrick has posed provocatively for a men's magazine--she knows she's attractive and has a healthy sense of humor about it. She's also a woman working in a man's world, so she knows the humor they like. She's in on the joke, and that makes this ad funny.

Go Daddy had an ad in last year's Superbowl that was rejected by the network, so they re-did the ad and directed everyone to their website. That ad was funnier than this one--it made fun of all the female celebrities who had been photographed sans undies by having attractive women (including Danica) getting out of limousines beautifully dressed and carrying a live beaver in their lap.

This year's ad did what it was intended to do--got people talking.

The ad is both brilliant and repulsive, a formula that works wonders for Go Daddy. It’s also nothing new for the company during Super Bowl season and is a spot-on reflection of its culture in too many ways to count.

What struck me from the ad was the presence of the owner. Not that he was in it (I’d expect nothing less!), but the questionable “enhancement” of his face. Sorry for this superficial comment, but I can tell you from first-hand experience, "superficial" is what makes Go Daddy go 'round.

The outcry over this ad strikes me as more than a bit Puritanical. People who protest it for being sexist would be spending their time more wisely if they decided whether it's tasteful to showcase extreme violence in major movies. The ad was obviously a parody, a bit sexy and risque, but not sexist. Why is it no one protests when real women dress sexy at work and expose cleavage but think ads like this are bad?

"They fall in the ranks of 'its all good as long as they spell the name right.'"

Wow, um, the 1970s called -- they want their PR strategy back.

Actually, it's quite in keeping with what their core audience (young males) would watch ... porn! Brilliant.

I agree, when the ad first came out a year or two ago, I had no idea what they were advertising. While the ad did not offend me, I think it did what they wanted, people are talking about it. Regarding Danica Patrick, GoDaddy is one of the sponsors for her race car so she may not have had much choice in the matter especially with all the corporate cut backs.

From what I've seen, Go Daddy is only interested in publicity -- good, bad or indifferent, they don't care if they offend someone. They fall in the ranks of "its all good as long as they spell the name right." The ads simply reflect the culture of the organization.

As a woman I didn't think it was offensive (or even morally or ethically questionable as one comment suggested). However, it was most definitely idiotic (as all their past ads have been). But as someone else on this forum said, that's the status quo for superbowl ads. The million dollar winning Doritos ad ended with a boss being hit in the crotch by a snowglobe thrown by his employee wishing for a promotion. The creators were interviewed (they had entered the contest in previous years unsuccessfully) and said that they did research as to what made a successful superbowl ad. The hit to the crotch appears to be video gold.

But back to the GoDaddy ad. Frankly, Danika...you can do better! I know you're sponsored by them, but you're a talented driver, and as one of the few women making a good name for yourself in an extremely male-dominated field, I think you do yourself a disservice by being in these assinine spots.

Danica Patrick is smart. She stands out in that ad precisely because she's NOT baring anything. She's the sane one who enhanced only her Web site with godaddy-dot-com. She's got spunk and if I were her, I'd keep the publicist. I guess if you didn't know it was Danica, you're not in the demographics the spot was aimed at during the Super Bowl.

I didn't think the ad was particularly offensive -- I just thought it was stupid. Unentertaining, uninformative, didn't make me care at all about the "product," whatever it was.

And poor Danica Patrick -- unless her goal is to be viewed as some sort of porn star, she needs to get some professional PR and marketing advice.

I expect to see cleavage and men acting stupid in Super Bowl ads. My problem was that didn't know what Godaddy was selling. They assume that everyone has heard of them and knows what services they provide.

The problem I had with the ad was that I didn't know what Godaddy was selling! I guess they assume that everyone has heard of them and knows what service they provide.

Generally, if I feel offended by an ad or think it's stupid, I generally recognize that I'm not the intended audience.

Women offended by a commercial featuring scantily clad women? Who woulda thunk it?

I think all this discussion reinforces why GoDaddy produces such ads -- we're all talking about it. And while the ad pushes the envelope a bit for a U.S. audience (it wouldn't raise an eyebrow in Europe, for example), it doesn't go over the line enough to keep it from being shown repeatedly on news and entertainment sites and channels - which, of course, multiplies the marketing impact. Personally, I'm much more concerned about ads or prime-time shows that blatantly glorify violence than I am about this type of silliness.

Good review Michael: I've been in the domain industry for about eight years. GoDaddy has always done very risky advertising appealing to a core audience of younger men.

This is nothing unusual for this company. They know what niche they are making millions on: young/middle age men, ages 16 to 34.

Without checking my charts... I believe this is also the largest demographic on the net and in the Superbowl audience.

I imagine that the 3 million dollar spot will rake in cash for GoDaddy. It did offend many conservative viewers... but in the eyes of GoDaddy "Who cares?"

GoDaddy has done an excellent job absolutely targeting the niche they want.

From a morality and ethics standpoint: questionable, yes.

From a return on investment for Godaddy standpoint: questionable, no.

Just more of the same from godaddy--insipid advertising that appeals to a 7th grade mentality. And for that, I apologize to the mature 7th graders out there--you know, those with an 8th grade mentality.

This is nothing new for GoDaddy... they have a history of proudly running similar ads during past Super Bowls. They even tease them on their site beforehand. Danica Patrick has been a spokesperson for them for a while now, I believe. I'm sure they could care less about Twitter chatter. I must admit, I have numerous domains hosted or bought from GoDaddy. I've always been very pleased with their service, but never understood why their marketing efforts seem to be so crude. I can only imagine that they have researched their audience and feel that this best reaches them. (It doesn't best reach me, though.)

To be honest, I didn't find it offensive at all. Did anyone catch the latest pregnancy test kit commercial last year that shows a liquid running over it with the announcer saying "it's the most advanced piece of plastic you'll ever ____ on? Compared to the GoDaddy ad, this wasn't offensive at all. I'm not saying I like the ad, just saying I can't believe it's really getting that much attention. Can someone tell me why no one has complained about the Hooter's ads? Plus, Jim Anderson, GoDaddy isn't a search engine and your sons and daughters, husbands and wives can't find porn on GoDaddy.

Andrea, Thanks for the addition. I had no idea that was Danica Patrick.

godaddy is simply exploiting our culture's mores. If we want this crass exploitation to stop, start there.

Your write up doesn't mention that the "proportioned and fully clothed woman" was Danica Patrick in an absolutely astounding lack of judgement. She needs a new publicist!