Sleaze Doesn’t Sell … So Why are We Still Watching?
Thirty-five percent of Americans have chosen not to purchase a certain brand because they found the advertisements distasteful, according to a recent Harris Poll. Another 22 percent said they’ve thought about boycotting brands because of bad advertising.
Personally, I’m surprised those numbers aren’t higher. I remember many times I’ve chosen one product over another due to offensive advertising. I was reminded of this just yesterday, when I visited GoDaddy’s homepage and saw Bob Parsons’ latest blog post.
The title? “The Secrets I Use To Make Millions Online … Plus a Smoking HOT Blonde.”
Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
This sounds spammy to start with, even if the claim is based in truth. And “smoking HOT blonde?” I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that the blonde is a female. That said, watching a video of a “smoking hot blonde” just doesn’t appeal to me. In fact, it makes me feel kind of sleazy. Am I buying domains, or watching bad internet porn?
You may recall that GoDaddy’s been stirring up controversy for years now with its “too hot for TV” Super Bowl ads featuring Danica Patrick. While the GoDaddy brand may have reaped short-term traffic and name recognition from this advertising strategy, it has come at the cost of alienating buyers – men and women.
A Lesson in Turning Customers Off
I noticed this in a recent discussion on a freelance writing forum I frequent. In a thread on purchasing domains, the general consensus seemed to be, “Buy from anyone but GoDaddy … unless you want to support tacky, tasteless advertising.”
In the words of one writer: “I probably find Danica Patrick as attractive as the next guy, but I don’t understand why, year after year, GoDaddy seems to think that idiot frat boys are interested in an Internet domain provider. I’m just relieved that we didn’t have to sit through that absolutely unfunny and truly stupid commercial they wanted to run.”
Guess What? Sex Doesn’t Sell
The worst part: recent brain scan studies show that, contrary to popular belief, sex in advertising doesn’t sell. It may generate attention, but it distracts people from the product being marketed and leaves them with little inclination to buy. (For the details, check out Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
What do you think – am I being a prude about GoDaddy’s advertising, or does it turn you off, too? Have you ever boycotted a brand because of bad marketing? Let me know in the comments section below.
4 Responses to Sleaze Doesn’t Sell … So Why are We Still Watching?
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Excellent article. I agree whole-heartedly. I've also boycotted GoDaddy. I don't know what their service is like. But, their advertising is garbage and their website is horribly designed.
If somebody uses sex to “sell”, I'm 98% more likely to boycott them. The 2% caveat is left for the likelihood that it's related to something for my wife. Considering I'm not married yet, this bumps the score back up to 100%.
I totally agree. I switched from Godaddy to Bluehost.com two years ago because I finally just had enough {of the lack of customer service as well as their advertising “plan”}.
How can I as a woman support the degradation of my sex with my dollars? I just can't.
Thanks Kelly. I feel the same way.
I definitely agree. I had a professor in college who made sure we knew that sex doesn't sell, it just gets attention. And mostly negative attention at that. In my opinion, a product or service should be able to stand on its own without using sex as a selling tactic.