I haven't actually watched the Super Bowl for a number of years, until yesterday. For most of it, I was twittering along with the 500 or so people I follow there. By the end, there was quite a bit of chatter on twitter about certain blatantly sexist ads that seemed to have nothing to do with what they were selling.
Most of the ads went by without much notice. I was somewhat puzzled by the ad featuring Danica Patrick, somehow being manipulated by teenage boys into showering with a blonde woman. It wasn't apparent what they were trying to sell, other than a form of cheeseball sexism that mainly works on 15 year old boys and 35 year old men who still live with their mothers. I rolled my eyes, but didn't think much more of it.
The next one, though, really irritated me. It showed a couple of big-busted models in a courtroom with Danica Patrick, and ends with one of the models thrusting her breasts into the camera while saying something about being "enhanced." What that has to do with the incredibly dull and unsexy task of registering internet domain names is beyond me. I'd rather have a spinal tap than ever do another DNS mapping. Does this marketing really work? If so, maybe Lysol should use bikini models to show men how incredibly sexy it is to clean the bathroom. Now that would be useful, and more likely to get them some action.
I registered my domain name with this particular domain registry site a few years ago, mainly because I had a coupon for 10% off and it seemed as good as any. Since November, the domain name has stopped working properly. I don't know if this is their problem or a hosting problem, but I thought I would let them know that something is wonky. So here's what I wrote:
Dear Tech Support:
Sincerely,
I actually laughed out loud as I hit "send" and then let my friends on Twitter know that I did this. I called it the "gomommy" revolution. Where do they think those boys in the ad got the money to buy a computer and go create soft-core porn on line? No doubt from their mommies. Consider it a one-woman protest in an on-going effort to raise a boy who is not a penis-driven moron. Kim liked the idea so much she sent it around and encouraged others to do so as well.
There are many ads that are stupid, tasteless, or just plain dumb. I don't know if GoDouchey's marketing team's dream is to cause controversy, or to just acknowledge that the main function of the internet is to look at free porn. That red-light district of the internet is not where my friends are, and it's a place I hope my son doesn't discover for a very long time.
Some of the marketing moms on Twitter didn't see why anyone would get her thong in a twist over this, since GoBadly has done this for several years. I can't really say that I'm planning to become the Tipper Gore of the ad world, or do much more than writing this blog post and a few ticked off tweets about it. Maybe I'll start a Facebook group. Yeah, that'll show 'em.
At minimum, they won't be getting any more money from me. If I can figure out how to transfer to a new registry service, I'll post that info here. GeekMommy says it should be listed on their website. All I could find was how to transfer it after the domain registration expired.
If you need to do domain registrations or need a web hosting service, check out:
- Network Solutions
- Register.com
- Registry Domains (recommended by Geekmommy)
For Hosting Services
- Dreamhost (recommended by Bridget)
- Lunarpages (recommended by Geekmommy)
As for Pepsi vs. Coke? Meh. Seems like they go to an awful lot of trouble and expense to sell sugar water.
