Although they aren't magazine advertisements, I have never liked GoDaddy ads. GoDaddy is a webhosting company that, in my opinion, has always had unethical and downright disgusting advertisements. Their ads have always been weirdly racy, at least for as long as I can remember. One memorable ad is their 2013 SuperBowl commercial which features a long, passionate, and up close kiss between a swimsuit model and stereotypical nerd. The ad uses inappropriate shock value to generate buzz about the company and demonstrate the contrasting sides of the company. In my opinion, the stereotypes it rested on were ridiculously over the top. The racy ads that this domain hosting company displays are sexist and universally disliked (while this ad did get GoDaddy's name out there, the response was generally negative). Titillation is just not an ethical advertising strategy. Another memorable GoDaddy ad, which was pulled due to criticisms before it even got to the SuperBowl, was one of a lost puppy that had been thrown out of a truck. The puppy finally makes it home to what we think is a loving owner, since she expresses her concern that she had when the dog was missing, only to finish "I'm so glad you're alright" with "because I just sold you on this website that I built with GoDaddy." This ad is offensive in a different way. While it was supposed to be making fun of other puppy ads like Budweiser's lost puppy who is rescued by his horse friends, this one is offensive to all moral animal lovers. Anyone who sells animals and ships them out to be bought the next day is practicing inhumane breeding and just displaying an overall lack of care for the living creature. GoDaddy capitalizes on arousal and what they believe to be humor in order to sell their service, when, in my opinion, all they're actually doing is perpetuating stereotypes, showing inappropriate and non relevant commercials, and creating an immoral reputation for themselves.
Kissing ad
Puppy ad
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