HostGator Ad
What’s going on with web host advertising lately?
Earlier this year Clickfire News broke the story about the questionable Media Temple ad that appeared in the Web Host Industry Review. Some wondered whether it was degrading to women and why a mainstream web hosting company would risk their brand with such an ad. That one is still kind of hanging out there unresolved, at least in my mind.
Not long after this, I picked up my copy of PingZine and saw the above HostGator ad, I believe on the back cover. I thought it seemed, well, not your ordinary web hosting ad. It features the blue and yellow HostGator mascot next to a burning skyscraper that represents “Leave a Message Web Hosting.” The Gator is getting ready to take a bite out of it, hence the title of the ad:
“We eat up the competition, Run… Web Hosts Run”
Anyway, I scanned the pic so I could think about it and post my thoughts. I kind of forgot about it and the picture of the rather unusual HostGator ad has been sitting on my desktop since January.
Today I stumbled upon my friend and fellow web host blogger Dimitar’s blog and saw that he’d posted about the ad. He has a lot to say about the “cubbish” ad, so do check it out. But before you do, take a look at the pic above, ponder and post your thoughts. I’d like to know what the ad communicates to you. I’ll eventually post my thoughts in more detail as well.
One thing to note is that I am not showing this image to denigrate HostGator. Goodness knows these hosts get enough pummeling, deserved or not in the comments of our web host reviews here. I am not saying anything here about HostGator’s products, but their advertising. HostGator has been one of the few hosts to receive a perfect rating of 5/5 stars in our review of their shared hosting service not too long ago.
So tell me, what does this ad say to you?
May 7th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Well, there’s certainly nothing from with the ad from my perspective. I suspect you realize it’s in jest / comparison to a ripe ol’ game called ‘Rampage’.
The MT one though was completely tasteless & not even ripe for a trailer park.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:56 am
David, I haven’t heard of Rampage, but that’s good to know. I have played a few rounds of “Redneck Rampage” in my day though, probably unrelated :)
May 7th, 2008 at 12:59 am
Entirely unrelated, here’s a random screenshot of one of the later versions — http://www.darkstation.com/images/media/ps2/rampage_td_05.jpg
Not quite the NES version I was used to as a child but I think it gets the point across that it was the look they were going for. At any rate, I suppose to each their own :)
May 8th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Thanks for pointing that out David. The first thought that came to mind when I saw the ad was the September 11 attacks. I feel a bit better about it after learning about the game, except, I wonder why no cues for those in the audience who hadn’t been exposed to the game.