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Christians upset by GoDaddy Super Bowl ads

It should be about balls, not boobs
Wednesday, 4 February 2009, 22:50

WE BRITS MAY not have the foggiest when it comes to the Super Bowl, but we do understand sexual innuendo and it seems right wing American Christians do too, with a load of them getting their cotton knickers in a twist over racy ads by website hoster GoDaddy.

GoDaddy is apparently notorious for its risqué Super Bowl advertising tactics, but entrepreneur Brian Harrell, who manages hosting services for a plethora of Christian orgs and churches, says his clients were shocked at the lewdness of it all. Harrell reckons he's already had to remove several of his clients from GoDaddy, at their indignant behest, due to ballsy ads during the, er, ballgame.

Godaddy2

From the reaction, you'd think these ads were worth getting all hot under the dog collar about. But when we had a look (in the name of thorough research), we were disappointed to discover one involved three nerdy guys watching a woman called Danica Patrick (visible only from the neck up) showering online. The other had a few boobtastic models in a courtroom jiggling their assets and shouting "Go Daddy". As titillating as it was, it was hardly the softcore porn we were hoping for er, sorry, expecting.

But Harrell says he's been inundated with complaint calls from Christian clients about the ads and decided to write a fire and brimstone filled email to the company, in which he reminds Go Daddy he and his clients hold 160 domains. In the email (published in full on Wired) Harrell also foams "It seems that the GoDaddy President seems like a bit of a sex addict or pervert".

Godaddy

GoDaddy, whose ads purportedly brought them a veritable biblical deluge of new customers, responded that Mr. Harrell's "feedback is highly valued". The company apparently received 110 percent increase in the number of orders for its service compared to Super Bowl 2008. TiVo, the Internet TV site, said Go Daddy's "Enchanced" ad was actually the game's most-viewed spot.

Well, seems obvious to us really. A bunch of sissy boys fumbling around in shoulder pads for a ball, or beautiful women flashing their hooters and pouting? Not a hard choice. µ

L'Inq
Wired

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Comments
I was a bit offended myself

I am not a devout Christian, but I got to say, the Superbowl is suppose to be a family event. My two daughters were also there when I saw the ad with the nerds forcing gals to take showers. First off, to me it made it look like desperate nerds use the service. Secondly, it is not cool to be able to force women to take showers, even if it is a joke. And third, it is not a good impression of women for either young boys or girls.

I didn't appreciate the Dorito commercial where crunching a chip make a gals clothes disappear either.

posted by : mark, 04 February 2009 Complain about this comment
If only....

....you'd sen the ads that ran in big Christian markets like Houston, Dallas & San Antonio that featured ashleymadison.com - a dating service for married people whose motto is "Life is short. Have an affair."

Turns out that red states - and large Texas cities especially - are the biggest customers of the site for "married singles" - in addition to their roles as moral and ethical arbiter for all Americans.

posted by : rickster, 04 February 2009 Complain about this comment
For the love

Of God, people get that stick out of your collective asses and enjoy life a bit....

'nuff said....

posted by : joey, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Insignificant

160 domains at $10 a pop. So that's $1600. That's nothing to a big registrar like GoDaddy. Many single users (squatters?) have plenty more than that.

They're lucky more bible bashers aren't into evil internet technology otherwise GoDaddy would have had something to worry about. Bring on the lewd ads!

posted by : David, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Spurned customers

It's much more than the devout. They've spurned women as well as professionals(how can a website designer refer people to a company with such desperate ads.) Sexuality isn't a big deal for most of the people who are transferring their services... it is the exploitation of women that is a big cause for cancellation.

posted by : R, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Aw p'shaw

Go Daddy don't got "Sylvie in a towel". nuff sead. "Singing glory, Glory, Hallelujah. Yeah, that'll do. glory,
Glory, glory, glory, Hallelu... Hallelu... Hallelu... Hal... Hal... Hallelu... Hallelu... jah... Hallelujah... Hallelu... Oh, say hallelu." "I think it will look better without the crown because the garter robe is so ... less dressy?" __It the Order of thr Bath, innit?! O Lord, Kum Bad Yah!

posted by : Chesterbadd Chinnyup, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Showers

"Secondly, it is not cool to be able to force women to take showers"

Well they'll soon start to smell if they don't have them of their own accord.

posted by : Michael, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
valued feedback

Yes, of course this bibble basher's feedback is "valued" .... it just adds to the publicity and best of all, it's free. I can't see the connection between being a christian and denying that sex exists, it's not as if no-one in the bible ever had sex - otherwise the sect would've died out millenia ago. Rather, I think we're seeing some rather immature individuals who have difficulty dealing with their own emotions (or lack of? or differently directed? or in denial over?) hiding behind a curtain of religious intolerance.

posted by : pete, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Yeah Right

Oh the super bowl is about boobs; all types of boobs.

posted by : Doug Glass, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
GoDaddy - A domain registrar for spammers and spoofers

GoDaddy is the worst and most irresponsible domain provider out there. There are many people who register with GoDaddy using fake addresses and contact numbers, and GoDaddy just accepts their payment without even validating these crucial information!

Many spammers and spoofers take advantage of this fact to create spoof websites. By the time the complaints reach GoDaddy, God knows how many people have already been conned.

GoDaddy sucks.

posted by : Comage, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Christ

Maybe these complaining Christians should just turn the other cheek?

posted by : BritSwedeGuy, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Sex sells

It's been said before and it will be said again because it's the truth, sex sells. Anyway personally I think any religion that has had a pedophile priest problem along with the divine witness protection agency for said priests should be barred from judging TV advertisements, hell they should be barred from judging anyone or anything period because most of them are probably hypocrites in the first place.

posted by : Tim, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Ok, I see the problem here.

Okay, look people, those of you from America not in the know and those of the foreign persuasion, I come from a large Christian family and can attest to 2 things. First, Protestant Christians, the kind being discussed in the article (and the ones you always hear about in the news when they talk about religious right wingers in the states) do not believe that Catholics are Christians at all and as such, have no priests.

Second, being from the family I'm from, I can tell you that the large percentage of Christians I've had the pleasure of meeting are lying hypocrites who use their "Christianity as a pious platform to judge others and try to control the world around them. they like to yell at you for being a sinner while they themselves commit the same sins, secretly. I say the majority are like this, but not all. You see, you can always tell the true Christians as they're the ones that don't avail themselves of earthly matters or mortal inequities. IOW, they're the ones not trying to tell you what to do because they know its not their place to judge you, but God's.

So remember, next time you see one of those American Smacktards on TV doing their thing, that (A), they represent a small fraction of Americans, (B), they most likely aren't Catholics but Puritan Whackjobs and (C), they probably just got done doing what they're accusing you of doing now.

posted by : DarkElfa, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
GoDaddy

I buy GoDaddy products and services *because* they have sexy ads that drive the fundies crazy!
About the only thing that offends me is when brain dead bible thumpers try to force their primitive belief systems on the rest of the population.
I do wish GoDaddy would use more natural women in their ads though...

posted by : cybersaur, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
Maybe the x-tians forgot?

Since GoDaddy started selling domain names they have ALWAYS had racy commercials. So if these crazy x-tians think that at some point when they were signing up their domain names that GoDaddy switched marketing campaigns on them they would be sorely mistaken. I submit that since this has been GoDaddys modus operandi from the beginning the x-tians are (still) hypocrites willing to use GoDaddy when it suits their financial needs, and then turn around and criticize GoDaddy when the desire for moral outrage suits them. Just like every other x-tian I have ever met does.

posted by : Axiomatic, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
CHRISTIANITY = CONTROL FREAKS

Christians should worry about the TV evangelists who promote the word of Christianity in the name of collecting dollars. Clean up your Christian act first before telling people what is right or wrong.

I guess its best to bilk people out of their money than seeing what god gave woman to bring them into this world.

posted by : Mike, 05 February 2009 Complain about this comment
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