There are several things I wanted to say last night that I didn’t. Fatugue robbed me of my sensibilities and dragged me, kicking and screaming, towards the doldrums. No, I wanted to talk about the GoDaddy commercial. I wanted to reflect on how quickly they tapped that sore spot of ours and reminded us of how more important the perceptions of dogs and the importance of their handlers are than the role of parents, perceptions of women, or anything else. Moreover, I wanted to talk about how quickly public entities cave in the face of even a sprinkle of public pressure.
This all started with the misogyny of the NFL.
Because of the recent media storm regarding abuse towards women by a handful of players, commercials had to be designed in a way that reflected the NFL’s new attitude towards femininity. In other words, GoDaddy couldn’t treat women like objects this year. So, in lieu of women, they turned to the other major source of American pathos: Dogs.
The commercial itself is a satirical take on the lost dog trope. A puppy is separated from its home and walks across the world, encountering challenges and making friends along the way. In the end we get the awaited punch line. Turns out home is a breeder and as the puppy happily leaps into its owner’s embrace it is coldly shipped off to a new home.
That’s funny stuff right there. Wait, can I say that? Am I supposed to consider the feelings of the dog? I’m not going to in this instance. In fact, I’m going to offer a second interpretation altogether. What if the puppy was complicit in the ‘crime’ What if the puppy’s role was to be bought and then ‘lost’ only to be bought and ‘lost’ again. The commercial certainly lends itself to that.
Still, the real issue is how quickly backlash exploded and the very powerful animal rights contingent cried about lack of sensitivity. They haven’t trotted out Mike Vick yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
I’m starting to wonder about all these stories—these distractions—from the game itself. I hear more about the world happening around the game (the meta game) than the game itself. It all leads to one question: How much of the Super Bowl is really about the football anymore?