Danica Patrick Godaddy Super Bowl Spot Not Guaranteed

During a press conference held today at Victory Lane in Arizona with GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons and Andretti Green Racing's Danica Patrick who has signed a deal with GoDaddy to be a "GoDaddy Girl," Parsons could not guarantee Patrick's appearance in either of the two Super Bowl 2007 spots for which the company has contracted. It's unclear whether or not the spots will feature long time GoDaddy Girl Candice Michelle either but Parsons, ever the cagey one, did clarify both will be in several spots for the company in the near future. When asked when we might see a version of the completed Super Bowl spot, Parsons replied, "Game day, unless it's banned." Then we'll be able to see it online prior to the game.

One reporter wondered whether GoDaddy's "racy image" might scare off other Andretti Green racing sponsors. Patrick was unconcerned citing the plethora of sponsor logos already covering her car. And slapping down any notion she might be in any way compared to Michelle, Patrick wryly added, "I don't look like Candice. [It would be] "hard to pull that off." Patrick also tossed off worries about GoDaddy turning her into an object of desire, becoming a bad role model and sending the wrong image to young girls saying, "I'm not concerned. I'm not going to do anything I'm not comfortable with." Finally, Patrick enjoys both her hard core racer persona as well as her girlishness saying, "When I race, I don't wear make up. You'll see me frown a lot. I stay focused. I can go from being a driver and being tough to flipping that completely , wearing a dress and having my make up done. I enjoy both of those aspects." Cute.

Other than Parsons announcing Shine Advertising as the company's agency of record, the press conference offered nothing we didn't already know and, while the camera didn't show it, the audio indicated only a handful of reporters in attendance. While we've chastised GoDaddy before, we do think the deal with Danica is a good one. Boob jokes can only last for so long and with Godaddy's over use of Candice Michelle's cleavage, they've already gone on far too long. Patrick is a breath of fresh air. Even if her demeanor slips a bit into the "I'm so above all this but I'll take the money" category, her background as a successful sports figure, to us at least, would appear to have longer marketing legs than Candice Michelle's over-used, over-sized, out of control breasts.

Written by Steve Hall    Comments (5)     File: Brands, Celebrity, Good, Sponsorship, Super Bowl 2007     Dec- 5-06