Caution lights are flashing for racing star Danica Patrick’s lucrative gig with Go Daddy. The advertising future of Go Daddy’s go-to girl appears to be in limbo as Go Daddy is about to announce the hiring of a new ad agency, Deutsch NY, which will have freedom to drop the sexy racing star from the Web domain company’s Super Bowl ad lineup. Patrick, 30, has starred in more Super Bowl spots – 10 – than any other celebrity, including Michael Jordan and Cindy Crawford. Overall, she’s appeared in 22 Go Daddy commercials since 2007 and is believed to earn upwards of $1 million annually for those commercial efforts. But Patrick has not appeared in a Go Daddy spot for months, and the company says it has no current plans to feature her in any spots at least through January. ‘The question at hand is: Is she in the Super Bowl or not?’ says Barb Rechterman, chief marketing officer at Go Daddy. ‘What we ‘re trying to do is redefine sexy to be a small-business owner running a successful business. So we want to explore options of how we make our advertising new.’ Patrick’s Q Score, which tracks likability, has recently been heading south, falling from 29 in 2010 to 19 in 2012. The average race car driver rates a 13 Q Score. ‘It raises a warning signal to evaluate the strength of her emotional connection with consumers,’ says Henry Schafer, executive vice president at The Q Scores Co.(USA Today)(10-18-2012)
UPDATE: Danica Patrick is still Go Daddy’s girl, though she may not be featured in the company’s Super Bowl spots for the first time since 2007. Go Daddy on Thursday announced it had signed New York agency Deutsch Inc. to produce its two 30-second Super Bowl spots, the first time the website domain provider has gone outside for the ads it has done itself since 2005. ‘We love Danica, our relationship is perfectly fine,’ [Barb Rechterman, chief marketing officer] said. ‘Danica, for us, is a valued asset and we have her for the foreseeable future. We are very excited for her upcoming first full season in the Sprint Cup Series, and Go Daddy is looking forward to many more years together with her.’ Rechterman said Go Daddy is interested in discussing opportunities with Patrick for the Indianapolis 500 next season. Patrick has said she ‘d like to run that race if she can partner with a team that gives her a chance to win. But Rechterman doesn ‘t know if that means Patrick will kick off the year with a spot in the Super Bowl, which is Feb. 3 in New Orleans.(Associated Press)(10-18-2012)
