The video which shows an adorable golden retriever falling from an opened truck traveling down the road. Other than the puppy taking a spill, it starts off innocently enough. They then show him walking the roads, running alongside cars, following train tracks, and braving thunderstorms until he finally reaches a barn....his home. A woman looks delighted and says, "Look it's Buddy, I'm so glad you made it home". She scoops him up and looks at him lovingly and then says, "I just sold you on this website I bought with GoDaddy. Then they cut to the Buddy and other puppies being driven away as the woman harshly yells, "Ship 'em out!"
While GoDaddy is known for sexist ads and shock value, it is also founded by Bob Parsons, who not only goes to Zimbabwe to hunt elephants, but proudly posts video of them. It seems that anything that gets attention is good for GoDaddy, whether degrading women, killing wildlife, or promoting puppy mills.
As animal lovers know, puppy mills are places of inhumane breeding and immense cruelty, solely for the profit of the puppy mill owner. They need to be outlawed, not humorously referred to as a joke.
The commercial has been pulled and will not air on SuperBowl Sunday, only due to the public outcry and online petition denouncing it.
USA Today reports: "Many in the animal rescue community swiftly pointed out that dogs purchased online often come from “puppy mills,” and the hashtag #GoDaddyPuppy became a rallying point for critics. GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving responded to the ad’s critics on Twitter this afternoon, vowing “we will not air it.”
Watch the full Super Bowl puppy commercial here.