Danica Patrick's Future With Go Daddy Uncertain As Company Switches Ad Agencies

The future of NASCAR driver Danica Patrick as “Go Daddy's go-to girl appears to be in limbo," as Go Daddy's new ad agency of record, Deutsch, N.Y., "will have freedom to drop the sexy racing star from the Web domain company's Super Bowl ad lineup,” according to Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY. Patrick has starred in “more Super Bowl spots -- 10 -- than any other celebrity.” She also has appeared in 22 Go Daddy commercials since '07 and is "believed to earn upwards" of $1M annually for those spots. But Patrick "has not appeared in a Go Daddy spot for months." The company said that it "has no current plans to feature her in any spots at least through January.” Go Daddy CMO Barb Rechterman said, "The question at hand is: Is she in the Super Bowl or not? 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 contract with Go Daddy “runs through 2013.” Her Q Score has "recently been heading south, falling from 29 in 2010 to 19 in 2012" (USA TODAY, 10/18). Deutsch is working on two 30-second spots for Go Daddy for Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, with multiple teams currently working on creative concepts (Go Daddy).

ROUGH ROAD: Patrick admitted that her first full season of NASCAR “education hasn’t been easy.” Patrick said, “Oh, yeah. There’s only so much of it you can take before you start to get a little down. I recognize that I’m learning a lot and putting myself in difficult situations on purpose. I’m fortunate that the people around me are patient.” USA TODAY's Dustin Long notes Patrick “hasn’t finished better than 25th in a Cup race but has shown progress on race weekends.” She has “shown progress in the Nationwide series, too, on a streak of four consecutive top-20 finishes for the first time this year” (USA TODAY, 10/18).

ON THE CLOCK: Swiss watchmaker Tissot announced that it will be the primary sponsor on Patrick’s No. 7 Tissot/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway. The race will mark the third time in as many years that Patrick will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports with Tissot as the primary sponsor (Tissot).