Go Daddy

Less than 24 hours after releasing its new Super Bowl commercial, web hosting company GoDaddy has pulled the ad under pressure from animal rights activists,

The ad, titled "Journey Home," shows a golden retriever puppy falling off the back of a pickup truck and finding its way back home. When he arrives, his owner is thrilled to see him because she just sold him on a website she created with GoDaddy. He's then seen being put in a van and driven off by race car driver Danica Patrick.

The ad received instant criticism from animal rights groups who complained that it promoted puppy mills. A petition to pull the ad gathered 40,000 signatures and GoDaddy decided to yank it. CEO Blake Irving announced in a tweet, "What should have been a fun and funny ad clearly missed the mark and we will not air it. Buddy came to us from a reputable, loving breeder -- just as the ad shows. Sell or adopt, in 2015 both ventures need to be online. I hear you and we’ll change course today. Our goal is fun & edgy -- never to promote something negative.”