Should Your Brand Be Buying Porn Domains?

Microsoft recently registered the Office.porn domain name, but no, Bill Gates is not suddenly getting into skin flicks. The software giant is just one of many companies and individuals who are purchasing racy domain names before John Q. Public has a chance to.

Beginning June 1, anyone will be able to purchase a generic top-level domain name. That means if they so wished, people with a grudge against Grimace and the Hamburgler could make Mcdonald’s.sucks their very own website address.

However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is giving the brands that may be most affected a chance to beat Internet pranksters to the punch with an early purchase.

Steve Miholovich, SVP of marketing at Safenames, told CNN Money that while this presents a unique opportunity for companies to protect their brands, some are wary of purchasing a domain name that carries negative connotations.

"They want positive images - they want positive messages. They're not going to turn [.sucks] into a positive," Miholovich said.

However, brands may be doing more harm than good by refraining. Imagine just how much confusion and bad press a lone individual with a large online following could cause by buying the rights to Chick-fil-A.porn.

It’s a potential risk many are unwilling to ignore. Just take a look at pop superstar Taylor Swift, who CNN Money reported bought both TaylorSwift.porn and TaylorSwift.adult.

The question now is: Which brands are going to leave their public images in the hands of Internet users? After all, the World Wide Web isn’t exactly known for its abundance of maturity and restraint.

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