Vox Populi is currently halfway through its sunrise period, during which top companies can snap up potentially problematic domains before ‘.sucks’ becomes available to the public on 1 June.
The sunrise fee for companies is $2,499 (£1,664) per year.
Starbucks.sucks, walmart.sucks, youtube.sucks and uber.sucks are just a few of the domains already purchased in a move known as ‘defensive registration’, carried out by prominent companies and individuals to prevent PR headaches down the line.
Celebrities who have acquired their ‘.sucks’ addresses include Kevin Spacey, Taylor Swift and Oprah.
Misha Dhanak, founder and managing director of The Romans, said: "Defensive registration is a natural reaction because no comms team wants to see a site that says their brand sucks. The reality however, is that if consumers want to say something negative about a brand, they don’t need a specific domain to do it – why go to a new site when Twitter is already open in your browser? Far better to focus on improving the elements of your brand that might suck. Or, focus on the people who really love you. After all, haters always gonna hate."
The $2,499 price tag for companies wanting to block their ‘.sucks’ domain landed Vox Populi in hot water with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which has asked both US and Canadian trade bodies to investigate any wrongdoing.
Vox Populi has denied violating any laws.
