GoDaddy pulls Super Bowl ad after animal rights criticism

Web hosting company GoDaddy has decided to pull the advertisement it originally intended to run during the Super Bowl. After receiving criticism from animal

Web hosting company GoDaddy has decided to pull the advertisement it originally intended to run during the Super Bowl.

After receiving criticism from animal rights groups, the company's CEO said Tuesday the ad will not be shown. Helena Yurcho, the creator of a Change.org petition against the commercial, celebrated the decision with an update as well.

Thank you @animalrescuers for the candid feedback. What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it.

— Blake Irving (@Blakei) January 27, 2015

The ad shows a puppy falling from a pickup truck and finding its way back home. When it arrives, the owner says she sold the dog on a website she built with GoDaddy. 

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2AHrCtOHqc]

Critics said the ad made light of so-called "puppy mills."

If you can buy a puppy online and have it shipped to you the next day, it's likely you're supporting inhumane breeding. #GoDaddyPuppy

— The SPCA (@animalrescuers) January 27, 2015

The spot was intended to poke fun at a similar, less cynical Budweiser ad. 

- Dan Gartland