GoDaddy Pulls Super Bowl Puppy Ad Amidst Controversy

GoDaddy's Super Bowl puppy commercial isn't going over well. The company has pulled it from airing during the big game. The clip features a puppy who falls from the back of a truck. As soon as he finds his way home, he's shipped out again after being sold.

Viewers criticized the ad for promoting breeding practices and the sale of animals in a Change.org petition after its début.

The @GoDaddy ad makes me wonder if the makers were dropped as kids. Sick. So happy you've been forced to take it off air. #GoDaddyPuppy
— SonamRevankar(@HappyyCurls) January 28, 2015

Thank you, America, for telling @GoDaddy how you feel about #puppymills. RESCUE, don't buy! #GoDaddyPuppy And thx Go Daddy for listening!
— Heidi Harris (@HeidiHarrisShow) January 28, 2015

I mean, how many had to approve of that ad before it went public? And how can one company contain so much tone deafness? #GoDaddyPuppy
— Michael (@BSidesNarrative) January 28, 2015

The SPAC shared viewers concerns.

If you can buy a puppy online and have it shipped to you the next day, it's likely you're supporting inhumane breeding. #GoDaddyPuppy
— The SPCA (@animalrescuers) January 27, 2015

Go Daddy heard the complains 'loud and clear' and released a statement:

"This morning we previewed GoDaddy’s Super Bowl spot on a popular talk show, and shortly after a controversy started to swirl about Buddy, our puppy, being sold online. The responses were emotional and direct. Many people urged us not to run the ad…. The net result? We are pulling the ad from the Super Bowl. You’ll still see us in the Big Game this year, and we hope it makes you laugh. Finally, rest assured, Buddy came to us from a reputable and loving breeder in California. He’s now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer and he’s been adopted permanently by one of our longtime employees.”

Not only was the ad pulled from being aired on Super Bowl Sunday, it was also taken off YouTube.

What do you think? Should the ad have been pulled?