Ms. GoDaddy.com Candice Michelle

She was the talk around the water coolers last year after the steamy GoDaddy.com commercial aired, Candice Michelle is now making quite a splash.

Fox killed a repeat airing of the sexy Super Bowl spot, citing pressure from the National Football League to can it.

The privately owned company, which had no previous experience in television advertising, paid $3.1 million for the right to air two spots promoting its Internet services during the 2005 championship game.

Even before the game, the ad was heavily publicized because it was the only spot that dared to poke fun at the previous year’s halftime “wardrobe malfunction,” which sparked a federal crackdown on broadcast indecency.

The GoDaddy commercial featured a bosomy model having trouble with her blouse as she testifies before a panel holding “broadcast censorship hearings.” The spot aired as scheduled in the first quarter of the showdown between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles, but a repeat appearance scheduled for the fourth quarter never was shown.

Among advertising industry insiders at one Super Bowl party, the spot was considered “an over-the-top hit,” according to AdAge, which follows the industry.

After all, the ad did ensure that millions of people are still talking about a company that few even knew existed a few days ago.

And they are still talking about Candice Michelle with the 2006 Super Bowl!

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the part Panamanian, part German, and all woman Candice Michelle says, “I blame my mom for my sweet tooth because she named me Candy! I have decided that the more sweets that I eat, the sweeter I get!” You can’t blame her parents for those juicy watermelons, though. That’s not Mother Nature but Doctor Feel Good.

After wowing viewers during the $250,000 RAW Diva Search competition, Candice returned to the show as a makeup artist. RAW fans got their best look at her during a recent Diva lingerie show.

Before joining WWE, Candice was a fitness model and actress. In addition to competing in fitness competitions across the country, Candice made time for roles in a number of movies, including, "Dodgeball" with Ben Stiller and "Diablo" with Vin Diesel.

GoDaddy.com, virtually unheard of by those outside the internet hosting realm prior to last year, has already gotten their monies worth out of this marketing campaign and it was so successful they've been fighting to get the commercials back on during this year's Super Bowl.  The company reportedly has received more than an estimated $11 million in “free publicity” as a result of the network’s cancellation of the ad. Already, the latest GoDaddy.com spot, which features a scantily clad Michelle washing windows outside an office skyscraper, has everybody talking.

The on-going controversy between GoDaddy.com and ABC television over a proposed Super Bowl commercial was expected to be settled last week but it ended up coming down to the wire.

“It will be a different ad than we originally submitted, but it will still be GoDaddyesque,” said Bob Parsons, president of the Scottsdale-based company., referring to a term he created to describe a risqué quality of the 30-second television commercial.

In the final hours, GoDaddy.com is attempting for the 14th time to get the commercial aired and has finally been approved. 

An internet sportsbook, BetCRIS.com (see web site here) was even prompted to place betting odds on whether the 14th time is the charm.

Odds of 1 to 1.1 on the YES and 1 to 1.4 on the NO were offered.

“Last year the New England Patriots may have won their third Super Bowl title in four years, but all I can remember is that GoDaddy.com commercial,” said Mickey Richardson, CEO of BetCRIS.com. 

BetCRIS.com is offering dozens of betting props on all aspects of the Super Bowl this year.  You can bet these here

In the spot, GoDaddy "execs" discuss their dilemma. Then they bring in GoDaddy girl Michelle to plead their case to the "chairman of the board."

The strap to Michelle's tiny little top pops in front of the older looking gentlemen. He's so shocked, he covers his mouth with an oxygen mask.

"She's a shocking girl, she stretches things," Parsons told The News.

But this commercial has an ending that differs from the earlier version nixed by ABC. TV execs balked because the man's expression in that ending implied "a post-coital event," Parsons said. He claimed he didn't even know what that meant before it was explained to him.

Joe Mandese, editor of MediaPost, which covers the advertising and industry, said submitting ads that get rejected has generated barrels of free ink for GoDaddy, which will reap the benefits of Super Bowl hype - even if its spot never makes it onto the air.

While all broadcasters set basic minimum standards and practices for both programming and ads, how far they're willing to bend the guidelines depends on audience makeup and other factors.

ABC declined to go into specifics about how standards and practices may vary from say, Monday Night Football, to the Super Bowl. But in a written statement, an ABC spokeswoman said the network is aware the Super Bowl can draw the biggest television audience of the year, and "we routinely require the highest standards for all the material broadcast."

That audience is indeed enormous: Last year, Fox drew the highest rating in its history as a network with an estimated 86.1 million viewers - down a bit from the 89.8 million pairs of eyeballs CBS pulled in 2004. By contrast, that is more than double what Fox drew for the NFC Championship on Sunday and better than triple the average for the highest-rated primetime program, "CSI."

Among the advertisers looking to get in front of that crowd are Burger King, FedEx, Procter & Gamble, Ameriquest, PepsiCo and General Motors. Anheuser-Busch is the largest single buyer, with a total of 10 spots throughout the game, and all the marketers are seeking mass reach in varying degrees.

PinnacleSports.com (see web site here), an online gambling firm based in the Netherlands Antilles, has even begun offering betting odds on the 2006 Super Bowl commercials.  Odds are specific to which 2006 Super Bowl Commercial Will Win USA Today’s 18th Annual Ad Meter Poll.

Anheuser-Busch is once again the odds-on favorite to win the viewer poll at 1/2 odds (i.e., win $1 for every $2 bet). Burger King, airing its first Super Bowl ad in a decade, is listed with the second best odds at 9/2 to be voted the most popular commercial. PinnacleSports.com lists longtime Super Bowl advertiser Pepsi at 8/1 to win the poll for the first time since 1998.

“When people talk about Super Bowl dynasties they mention the 1970’s Steelers, 1980’s 49ers, 1990’s Cowboys and the current New England Patriots, but nobody has dominated the Super Bowl like Anheuser-Busch,” said Simon Noble of PinnacleSports.com. “In recent years, Budweiser has been the MVP of Super Bowl advertising – making another company the favorite to win the Ad Meter poll was never an option.” 

PinnacleSports.com does not include the GoDaddy.com spot among its odds, however, they do include an option "Field" which would count any commercial not specifically listed with odds set at 6 to 1 (or win $6 for every $1 wagered). 

GoDaddy.com continues to expand, announcing this past week it has opened a new Office of Government Relations in Washington. "As the world's largest domain name provider, responsible for more than 11 million domain names, Go Daddy feels an obligation to protect our customers and represent their interests," said Bob Parsons, GoDaddy.com founder and President. "It's an obligation we share with lawmakers and federal officials, so it is important that we be in Washington, as a base of Internet knowledge for Capitol Hill, the Executive Branch and Federal Regulators."

  

Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com

Originally published January 29, 2006 11:10 am EST


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