GoDaddy Asked to Replace Dog-Selling Ad With Jaw-Dropping PETA Spot

PETA Calls On Company to Use Provocative Pro-Adoption Ad for Super Bowl Spot

For Immediate Release:
January 28, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

GoDaddy may have pulled its widely condemned Super Bowl spot, but the damage—promoting the breeding of dogs and the selling of puppies online—has already been done. That’s why today, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—sent the Web-hosting company a letter suggesting that it use one of PETA’s provocative pro-adoption ads during its Super Bowl spot.

PETA’s suggestions include “Buy One, Kill One” and “Everyday Dogs,” which use body bags to point out how, for every dog bought from a breeder or pet store, a dog in an animal shelter loses his or her chance at finding a home (and, often, loses his or her life). Another option is “The Talk,” which makes a satirical comparison to teen pregnancy to highlight the homeless-animal overpopulation crisis.

“GoDaddy missed the mark with its pro-breeder ad, but it can still make amends by warning Super Bowl viewers that breeders are killing shelter dogs’ chances,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “By using one of PETA’s cheeky pro-adoption ads for its Super Bowl spot, GoDaddy can get just as much attention while making a huge difference for the millions of lovable dogs who end up in animal shelters every year.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to GoDaddy follows.

January 28, 2015

Blake Irving
Chief Executive Office and Board Director
GoDaddy

Dear Mr. Irving:

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 3 million members and supporters regarding GoDaddy’s “Journey Home” Super Bowl spot. Since it has been pulled because of serious concerns about its promotion of breeding and selling animals, we’d like to ask you to run one of our pro-adoption public service announcements during the big game instead.

We have several spots that could have a positive impact on Super Bowl viewers, including “The Talk,” which highlights the animal-overpopulation crisis by making a satirical comparison to teen pregnancy; “Buy One, Kill One,” starring an adorable little girl who learns a tough lesson about the consequences of buying animals; and “Everyday Dogs,” an edgy spot dramatizing the fact that every time someone buys a dog from a breeder, a dog in a shelter has to die. Any of these ads would get football fans talking about GoDaddy and the importance of adopting animals instead of buying them.

Dogs sold in pet stores or online often come from puppy mills, where they are treated like nothing more than merchandise. Investigations of puppy mills have revealed that dogs are forced to live with little to no shelter from the elements, suffer from rampant diseases and untreated injuries, and even go insane from the intense confinement and deprivation. What’s more, every year, 6 to 8 million animals end up in animal shelters across the U.S., and about half of them are euthanized because there simply aren’t enough homes for them all. Countless more cats and dogs suffer on the streets, where they’re vulnerable to traffic, abuse from cruel people, attacks by other animals, disease, weather extremes, and starvation. Breeders and those who buy animals from them instead of adopting from a shelter are responsible for much of this suffering.

Pulling “Journey Home” was the right decision, and we hope you’ll accept our offer of one of our ads to use as your Super Bowl spot in order to try to undo some of the damage caused by its release. The message that we can all do our part to end animal overpopulation—by spaying and neutering our animal companions and by adopting from animal shelters, not from breeders or pet stores—is an important one that deserves to be heard.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President