ABC Approves GoDaddy Spot

NEW YORK It almost didn’t happen, but GoDaddy.com, the domain-name registrar that was scolded last year for running a racy commercial during the Super Bowl, got approval from ABC today to run a spot during this year’s big game.

“This showdown went down to the wire. We were about out of time and had produced our 14th and final attempt. I’m ecstatic about being in the Super Bowl again,” said Bob Parsons, founder and president of GoDaddy.com, in a statement.

GoDaddy said it went through multiple revisions of its ad and had negotiated with network censors before it finally won approval.

Last year, GoDaddy.com’s commercial, a parody on censorship in the wake of Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” the year before, was pulled before it aired a scheduled second time during the Super Bowl. The ensuing controversy resulted in more than $11 million of publicity for GoDaddy, according to broadcast monitoring service Multivision Inc.

Parsons has been mining the controversy for publicity ever since his first attempt to buy time this year was rebuffed by ABC. He has been chronicling the efforts on his blog, BobParsons.com, where various iterations of the ad can be viewed.

It was not known how much GoDaddy is paying to run the ad. Per sources, the average 30-second slot on the upcoming Super Bowl is selling for about $2.5 million.

—Brandweek staff report

via adweek.com