GoDaddy says toned-down ad yanked by NFL, Fox

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0207godaddy-ad-ON.html

The Arizona Republic

A Scottsdale company’s Super Bowl ad that played off Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” was risque enough that the NFL and the Fox television network yanked after airing only once in Sunday’s broadcast.

The pulling of the GoDaddy.com ad proved ironic given that the commercial was a toned-down version of one that Fox Broadcasting Co. had rejected. The Scottsdale firm, an Internet domain name registrar, cleaned up the ad to qualify for prime-time viewing during football’s biggest event of the year.

But apparently not clean enough.

According to Bob Parsons, the president and founder of the GoDaddy.com, the NFL became upset after the commercial ran in the first half and “they, together with Fox, decided to pull the ad from running a second time.”

So instead of seeing the commercial during the two-minute warning in the Super Bowl’s second half, viewers saw a Fox promotion of its popular series, “The Simpsons.”

Parsons said his company was also robbed of a five-second “Brought to you by GoDaddy.com” mention during the game – a benefit for advertisers who buys two or more commercials. The ads cost $2.4 million for a 30-second spot.

GoDaddy’s ad shows a high-spirited young woman appearing before a mock censorship board. She’s explaining what she does in the ad when the strap on her tank top breaks. “Put that strap back on,” a committee member shouts.

It spoofed last year’s halftime show, during which pop star Janet Jackson’s right breast was partially bared when her outfit was pulled by singer Justin Timberlake. The incident drew a $550,000 indecency fine for CBS, which is appealing the decision.

“Our ad is finishing high in opinion polls,” Parsons wrote in a blog on the GoDaddy.com Web site. “So far in early opinion polls, our ad seems to be finishing fairly high. In fact, in checking the one on the Fox site, it is in the No. 2 position. Not bad for an ad that could only be aired once.”

The NFL and Fox network could not be immediately reached for comment.