GoDaddy to Sell "Controversial" .XXX Domains

Posted 06/13/2011 at 7:00am | by Paul Lilly

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Go Daddy's Super Bowl commercials might get a little more sultry, if you can imagine that. The spunky Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company is already known for running ads that, as Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons describes them, are "fun, edgy, and a bit inappropriate," and it will be even tougher to walk the line of what can and can't be televised when the company becomes one of the first to start offering .XXX domain name extensions.

"We've said from the beginning... when it comes to .XXX, we are going to listen to our customers," Parsons explains. "A large number of our customers have spoken... and there is a demand for the controversial new domain name extension -- for both brand protection purposes and for new names. So what are we going to do? Go Daddy is going to give our customers what they want!"

In case it's not blatantly obvious, the .XXX extension is specifically targeted at the adult entertainment industry, the same sites that private browsing modes are really intended for, only without the 'wink-wink' factor. Go Daddy says it already met the requirements of ICM Registry, the operator of .XXX, to provide the triple X extension and will accept registrations beginning in early September.

"We know our customers will be well served with Go Daddy as a partner," said ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley. "We look forward to working with Go Daddy in the development and marketing of the new .XXX domain name extension. Go Daddy certainly knows how to market new concepts, especially when it comes to domain names and websites... and they are acknowledged as leaders in customers service."

Creative marketing is Go Daddy's forte, but outside of edgy commercials, the new extension could make it easier for parents to filter out and block websites they don't want their teenage sons and daughters viewing or stumbling upon.