Lexus Blocked Danica’s Ad from US Open Coverage

As unbelievable as it may seem, Japanese automaker Lexus has blocked a GoDaddy.com commercial that featured female race driver Danica Patrick in a vintage American car. A Ford Mustang to be more exact.

The ‘Speeding’ commercial should have been running twice during the U.S. Open last weekend, but Lexus, the exclusive sponsor of the NBC broadcast, banned it from airing as it didn’t want other automakers to be shown during the event.

“This is outrageous” said Go Daddy CEO & Founder Bob Parsons in a press release. “Lexus knows our ‘Speeding’ commercial is NOT about selling cars. GoDaddy.com sells domain name registrations. It seems like they don’t want Americans watching the United States Open to see or think about an American-made car in any shape or form. I see it as kicking the American auto industry when it’s down.”

A few weeks ago we were telling you about a teaser on the Danica’s new Go Daddy commercial, named ‘Speeding’, which boosted the website’s visits. The ad shows how Danica is pulled over by a sexy female cop on a deserted highway for speeding.

When the officer recognizes Danica, she starts stripping on the hood of the Ford Mustang, as an audition for being a GoDaddy girl. But in the end, she still writes Danica a speeding ticket. As you can see, the commercial is indeed about advertising the GoDaddy.com web site, not the Ford Mustang.

Though GoDaddy.com had a few commercials banned from airing for being edgy and inappropriate, this is the first ad that blocked due to the product they contain. “It is beyond my wildest dreams that one of our commercials would be rejected only because it featured a classic American automobile,” said Parsons.