20,433 Elephant Lovers Say Goodbye to GoDaddy

It was just a couple weeks ago that the CEO of GoDaddy released a video of himself hunting down helpless elephants and taking some nasty footage the whole way through. Standing in front of his killed elephant like a fool, did Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy, even think about the consequences of his actions and footage which would soon spawn across millions of web sites and domain owners? … or was Bob Parson simply looking for the attention he tries to get every year with his Superbowl commercials that always try to push the envelope? Either way, he did get the attention, but he also helped GoDaddy lose a decent amount of customers and increase the competition at the same time.

Long story short… once the video and story was released on GoDaddy’s elephant video, the drama and boycott started. NameCheap was smart enough to think of a way to both attack GoDaddy, take their customers and also help donate to saving the elephants. NameCheap created a coupon code that would allow you to transfer domains away from GoDaddy for a lower price, and a portion would also go to charity.

I’ve been very curious how successful this campaign was, and some numbers were actually released today.

“Domain registrar Namecheap said thousands of outraged customers transferred 20,433 Web domains to their service in the fallout over a graphic hunting video showing GoDaddy chief Bob Parsons shooting an elephant.

A spokesperson for the small L.A.-based registrar said that a “majority” of the transfers were from GoDaddy, and that a special “Save the Elephants” deal rolled out after the scandal reaped $80,000 in revenue.”

It’s quite amazing to see that over 20,000 domains were transferred away from GoDaddy to NameCheap. You can read the full story and watch the original elephant hunting video here.

Although the “Save the Elephants” campaign is now over, you can still save money by using coupon code “SWITCH2NC“, which will take off $1 per domain transfer.

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51 Comments

  1. Geat story Zac-Businesses really need to Think before they act in todays media. Great job by namecheap for helping a good cause.
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    1. I totally agree with this. people really need to think
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    1. There is a huge hatred for GoDaddy among their customers. I use both GD and NC, but have been moving over NC gradually as I like their setup and terms better.

  3. Wow, what a great way for one company to step up their game! Their business plan is brilliant! Not only did customers get to stand up for what they believe in, they had a safe alternative to fall back on. This was well planned and really took advantage of the opportunity.

  4. Foolish…Foolish…Foolish! What was Bob Parsons even thinking?! You know, I like to hunt too, but that wasn't even hunting. Bob Parsons was asked to shoot that elephant because it was destroying native's property. So, why is he acting like he's so proud.

    And, I have to hand it to Namecheap…that was really clever. I'm surprised that Hostgator didn't jump on board.
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    1. Imagine if Bob used his money to build a fence instead, or helped elephants with an animal reservation or something. The positive news could have helped promote GoDaddy as well.

  5. that was one expensive shot for godaddy
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  6. Boycotts like this help raise awareness of wrong doings. I hope GoDaddy learned his lesson on how to treat elephants and animals.

  7. Hi Zac,

    First I would like to say that I am glad to have come across your blog. I am still a bit of a novice when it comes to blogging and affiliate marketing and you have lots of information that could be of great help to me.

    I first heard about this videos from my WebProNews Newsletter I received a few days ago and I was shocked. I am an animal lover and it hurt me to see that this man took pride in killing a living creature, and to think that he may have done this for "publicity" makes me very angry. Maybe he truly didn't realize the impact it would have on people, especially GoDaddy customers, but either way this is a sad situation.
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    1. Thanks for reading the blog. I'm sure Bob Parsons knew what he was doing and getting into. He seems to be that kind of guy, and will do anything to get his company name out there.

  8. I would put that gun in this guys arse and pull the trigger.. SOB killed a speechless, defenseless animal.

  10. What a big mistake he just did, the human ego can make you and can kill you…. well to bad for him!!
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    1. GoDaddy is such a massive power house and has so much money, it won't effect them financially… and it may have even sent them more business from all the negative publicity!

    2. But that $80k could help NameCheap build up more to take them down!
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  15. I just cant understand why they did that =/
    thats just messed up…

    It doesnt affect me much but I think this is the dumbest thing they have done so far…

    thanks for news.
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  16. I must admit Bob's move was incredibly stupid, however how much does 20,000 mean for GoDaddy considering their total amount of domains? Anyone knows the total number of GD domains?

      1. I was glad to take the opportunity to tell godaddy to go fuck themselves – I don’t give a shit about elephants – their website is just a money trap where they try to sell you useless shit every step of the way; glad to have an easier out. Keep it up, Bob!

  18. Though NameCheap did end up getting a lot of business from their swift action, they also got positive recognition from animal lovers and domainers alike.

  22. Lol how messed up can you be? Total fail then I again I don't really think Bob gives a rat ass about it. I think he'll do just fine with the elefant head hanging over his fireplace somewhere unknown…

    It just goes to show that one has to be responsible of your extra curriculum activities so one can protect one's business and the image of it.

    1. Bad publicity is good and free publicity for Bob Parsons and GoDaddy… im sure they picked up a bunch of new domain buyers just from people who visit the site after hearing the story.

  23. I wish I was quick to respond to things like that. I'm sure they made a quick buck off of it.
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  24. Doesn't he own like 65% of GoDaddy?
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  25. I don't believe what he did was right, but at the same time. You look at the video of the people and it looked like they needed the meat. Better ways to do it though.

  26. I've been wanting to leave Godaddy for a long time (can't stand the website) and this gives me the push to do it. I have alot of domains there so can afford to do it all at once but will be transferring them to NameCheap as they near their expiration dates.

    Noticed that NameCheap has redesigned, glad to see that. It's alot easier to navigate and use now.
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  27. I have personally realized that |Name|Cheap is better than GODaddy …. GO Daddy is not offering any privacy as compared to name cheap…..
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  29. Even though Godaddy is an established company, Bob Parson should also be conscious of his actions. His name is along with the company, so he should take care of it. On the other hand, Namecheap did make a good strategy to use the video to hit Godaddy, making the client to move on Namecheap and that was really successful.

    1. If it was a public company, it would be interesting to see what the shareholders would have done and how it would have effected the stock.

  31. That is just horrible! Killing elephants for fun and even having a picture with it with a smile on the face? dayum!
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  32. Godaddy Sucks and even the employees hate the company. Employees over the phone will tell you how Godaddy doesn't always notify you when it is time to renew your domains and they will put your domain on back order and try to make you pay more just to get it back.

    I also read how they were missing over John Chow and I think Shoemoney. They suck and I am glad the Jerk showed who he was to the world he is scum and a loser and so is that company. I am glad Name Cheap got some of his customers I hope more people will transfer. I don't like Godaddy or No daddy according to the employees and I will never use them again. Anyone not switching from this company is an idiot because the service is horrible and they will try to steal your website.

  33. I just transfered to HostPapa. Use their coupon code "elephant" and they'll donate $5 to Save the Elephants.

  34. I have just seen this story and I am absolutely shocked. With the kind of money that his company makes, he could have offered a big donation to the animal reservation people working so hard with so little money in order to save these wonderful animals and provide the with a safe habitat.

    I will never buy anything through Go Daddy ever again – I only have one domain name with them anyway and will transfer that to Namecheap.

    What a disgrace!

  35. All the more reason to SWITCH hosting providers, I moved mine to Hostpapa, I get 3 months free web hosting, FREE domain for life and hostpapa is donating $5 to savetheelephants.org – just use the coupon code “ELEPHANT” – no brainer to me….

  36. I still prefer Godaddy. Business is business.
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