Sexy Domain Names

http://videos.godaddy.com/godaddy_media.aspx?ci=13478

I mean, if that doesn’t sell the idea that sex sells, I don’t know what will.

We all, I’m assuming, at least know of GoDaddy. If you’re like me though, you probably don’t even really know what it is that GoDaddy does though. Perhaps  this quote, taken directly from the commercial on the front page of the “Commercials” tab on GoDaddy’s website, best describes not only what GoDaddy sells, but also what GoDaddy does:

“Charlene is how GoDaddy attracts domain name customers.”

Yes, GoDaddy shamelessly admits to using sexy figures such as Charlene to “attract” its customers. (Apparently it’s a site to purchase domain names? Without a question, when thinking of “domain names,” the first word to come to my mind is “sexy”…)

And yet, somewhere in my mind, I find myself thinking, “What does sexed up women have to do with domain names? How can they expect to sell their product when they offer so little information about it?” Domain names are hardly limited to the demographic of 18-40 (or otherwise aged) year old men. How do they market to women?

Maybe they don’t need to. I mean, sex sells. And it isn’t failing GoDaddy any to use this principle. The site is ranked #58 in the US according to three-month Alexa traffic rankings. (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/godaddy.com) Another interesting stat I read from Alexa while researching GoDaddy is that, “Compared with internet averages, the site's users are disproportionately Caucasian, and they tend to be moderately educated men earning over $30,000 who browse from home.” So it looks to me like they are hitting their target audience.

And you don’t need to be anything more than ignorant to notice the overwhelming amount of advertisement across GoDaddy’s main page. “Domain Deals”-galore line every page you navigate on their site. Heck, why not start your own domain for $5.99 a year (with a .BIZ address, that is)?

Overall, though, I find their advertisements hilariously appalling. Appalling, because it makes me wonder (as do many things, granted): how have we gotten to this point? Where we use something so obviously cliché as the exploitation of women to sell something as meaningless as a domain name for six bucks a year?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I feel like we are all able to see right through GoDaddy’s tactics; personally (correct me if I’m wrong?), I see their efforts as not merely using sex to sell, but as a complete shock factor. How can you forget about GoDaddy after witnessing any of their advertisements on TV? It’s crazy to me.

But that’s the lesson about humanism that I think can be taken from this: that, even if we recognize what a company is doing when it pulls advertisement stunts like this, we still bow to it’s ability to linger both sex and shock in front of us, helplessly pulling us in to their site, while simultaneously imprinting their name into our minds. At the risk of boiling this aspect of humanity into a simplistic saying, I do think we are at the mercy of advertisers with powers much greater than their products to hold us.

Now, I hate to pull this one out. But I have to do it.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

While advertisers may want us to “conform” to society – in the case of GoDaddy, “use our product, be associated with sexy imagery, which is where all the cool people are” – we need to watch our steps very carefully that we not do this. I don’t want to say, “Don’t use GoDaddy for all of your domain name needs! It is not the will of God!” But it’s always nice to have that word of caution: in many ways we are asked to give in because of things that are perceived to be “attractive.” Advertisers know what these perceptions are. But what’s going to prove attractive to us in the long run is what’s more important.