The news headlines on this story bother me. Smearing a lot hard working caring people with the puppy mill label is just not right. I carefully checked a lot of breeders before buying my Boston Terrier. The good ones all welcome people to come and personally visit the kennels. The humane society has a responsible breeder check list ( pdf link ) in this article.
A close family friend has breed and sold Yorkies for 35 years. She’s sold 4 to my parents (2 in the 1980’s and then 2 more in the late 90’s after the others had died). This lady is the go to person in my hometown for Yorkie rescues. She’s found loving homes for many Yorkies. Doesn’t matter if its a puppy she originally sold or not. Yes, she has a web site. Yes she does require buyers to answer questions and sign a spay/netuer contract.
Responsible breeders are out there. They can be found quite easily. I first tried my local papers and then web sites. I found breeders that actually show their dogs. The pets they sell are almost show quality. The bitches (mamma dogs) are former champions, well cared for and aren’t over bred. I drove 450 miles to personally meet the breeder and see the kennels. It gave me a chance to meet the bitch and stud. See their temperament. I wanted a puppy that was calm and docile.
There’s nothing in this ad that I see that screams puppy mill. To make that accusation as a knee jerk reaction is an over reaction.
I would have preferred seeing a link at the end of the commercial directing people to the humane society’s responsible breeder checklist. That could easily be added.
Promoting a discussion on finding and buying from ethical breeders makes a lot more sense than smearing an entire industry as puppy mills.
People are going to buy dogs. They need useful information to make an informed decision.
I don’t have a problem with the farm being like a ‘puppy mill,’ but it’s a poorly conceived ad. So the controversy is dumb, but I just don’t care for the ‘joke.’
They showed the puppy ad and got tons of publicity.
Now they get to show another ad on Sunday, probably one with a scantily-clad woman like so many of their ads. They will get tons of publicity as people talk about whether the new ad was better or worse.
So, two Super Bowl ads for the price of one, and publicity money can’t buy.
Absolutely. Manufactured controversy. And what’s up with that horrible edit after the woman says “I’m so glad you made it home!” Horrible edit begins here “Because I just sold you on this web site I built with GoDaddy.” There’s a terrible audio changeover (I’m not even convinced it’s the same actress) and the voice isn’t even synced to the film. No way is that acceptable quality for any national TV spot, much less the Super Bowl. Besides that, it’s a really stupid commercial anyway.
From what I have read and heard today, which is an awful lot considering it’s one ad that won’t even air, I misinterpreted the ad. For some reason, I saw the dog getting tossed out onto the road, not falling out. Therefore, I also saw the owner as a wicked witch who would do anything to get rid of that dog. I guess I’m just too sensitive.
Now that I know nobody else saw it that way, I still don’t like to see the dog suffering as he found his way back home. Too sad.
HOWEVER, even with all that, I don’t see the outrage. I don’t understand why this is a huge deal all over the web and TV. It’s just a go daddy commercial, and anyone watching the superbowl knows they are known for being offensive and pushing the boundaries of taste.
I guess I’m one of the few who has more empathy for the little dog than I do for the scantily-clad women who GoDaddy is known to “exploit”. The ad didn’t sit well with me because the puppy worked so damn hard to find his way home…only to find out he’d been sold on a stupid website. No moral outrage here but it sure didn’t give me the “warm and fuzzies” either.
Props to Budweiser for the opposite of the GoDaddy puppy commercial!
The GODaddy one makes me laugh whenever I watch it. The Budweiser one is so full of shit. The GoDaddy pup is going to a nice home. That’s why he was there in the first place!
The puppy finds his way home. The woman picks up the tired and dirty puppy. She sits down with the puppy on her lap, and pulls up the ad she made showing the puppy for sale. She looks at the puppy, and he gives her a huge sloppy kiss. She looks back at the ad, and clicks delete.
I saw it as the puppy possibly falling or just jumping out of the back of the truck, and questioned their commitment to puppy transport safety, but yeah, I wasn’t outraged about it.
It’s not the puppy mill aspect that gets me it is what I would consider a breaking of trust, and breaking the heart of the puppy. The puppy made great efforts to get home, presumably for a sense of belonging and home, basically love. The woman appears to be just looking at the puppy as a product, not a living soul, the ending even has the van door close like a jail door (making such a sound).
Hopefully to a better life, but that is not expressed here.
I had the opposite reaction. I liked the joke, but I can see the problems that some people will have with the fact that the business in question is a “puppy mill” (as opposed to a legitimate breeder). Then again, I am hearing that most of the complaints are coming from people who support “rescue dogs” (i.e. dogs “rescued” from shelters) and think that anybody who profits from selling dogs should be treated as criminals.
:eek: