If you think pets featured only in the ‘Pedigree’ and other pet-food advertisements, Think twice! From cars to eatables, soft drink to red bull, shoes to apparels, chocolates to biscuits, telecom service to public interest campaigns; pets, especially dogs, have stayed in the limelight, and in our memories, for quite some time now.

When I thought of writing this article, I started listing out the ad campaigns which have/had featured pets. I remembered the scenes better, where the pets gave their cameo appearances but I couldn’t remember the name of the company or the product they endorsed or the central idea of the ad campaign.

Try it yourself, recall an advertisement which featured a pet, apart from these famous advertisements: Pedigree, Whiskers, Hush-Puppies, Vodafone and  Volkswagen’s car brands.

So what does this tell us? Is it the advertisements that make these pets famous? Or is it our cute furry friends that add their own magic to make these advertisements highly successful?

Let us look at it from the first perspective. Successful advertisements induce certain trends in the breed choice.

A prominent example of an infamous breed becoming a rage is the Basset Hound in late 1960s. “Pookie” is no more known by his breed name “Basset Hound”, he sacrificed it for the brand that he’s endorsing. ‘Hush Puppy dog’ is the popular nickname given to him. Why would someone prefer a less prominent dog to be the brand-ambassador for their leading leather-footwear brand? James Gaylord Muir, the first sales manager of Hush Puppies, established a connection between the word “Hush Puppies” and comfortable leather footwear. In his time, “Barking dogs” was an expression, which meant sore feet. Muir assumed Hush Puppies shoes to be so comfortable, that they would “quiet barking dogs” meaning, comfortable foot-wear for a sore feet. And the Basset hounds best known for their docile, quiet and gentle demeanor are aptly named “Hush Puppies”.

From just being a comfortable foot-wear, Hush Puppy shoes became a style statement and a life-saver (that’s what the company claims!). Keith Richards (guitarist in Rolling Stones), who wore a pair to a concert, was saved from being electrocuted by an ‘‘ungrounded microphone’’. Although knocked-down unconscious, he survived the shock due to the ‘crepe soled’ Hush Puppy Shoes. True! Dogs have always been a friend and a savior to mankind at all instances of time. The advertisement and the life-saving incident made news and went on to increase the sale of Basset hounds considerably.

History repeated itself, in the all-famous example of Vodafone ad-campaign. Before 2003, GenX was never impressed by a dog with a curled tail and wrinkly-short-muzzled face. Adding to its “ugliness” it largely suffered from ‘reverse sneezing’, ‘eye prolapse’, ‘hip socket’ and bacterial infections in its skin folds. But “Cheeka” changed the entire notion with a simple 60 second ad-film.

From the pet that was mostly not preferred by aspirant-pet-parents, Pugs became a heart-throb throughout the world. In 2004, farmhouses went out-of-stock, and the long booking-time really frustrated the aspirant pug-parents. For a meagre Rs.2000 the prices sky-rocketed to Rs.60, 000. It became “neighbors’ envy, owners’ pride”. In 2005, “Cheeka” attained the cult status of a‘poster-girl’  and every Vodafone customers yearned to have her as their mobile-phone wallpaper.   “Cheeka” was not only instrumental in making the smooth transformation of ‘Hutch’ to a successful ‘Vodafone’ but also instrumental in promoting her own breed adoption .

The tribute to man’s best friend in Volkswagen’s “Woofwagen Ad 2013” is indeed remarkable! “Superbowl 2012” not only introduced Bolt (a 3 year old Australian Shepherd and St. Bernard mix) but also aimed at inspiring our own pets to slim down and be fit.

“These advertisements have introduced buyers with a vast range of breeds, both national and international. Petshops and Kennels are flooded with requests for exotic breeds, the pet aspirant may not even be aware of the breed, but demand them by the brand name which they mascot, like ‘Garnier Dog’ [Dalmations in Garnier’s “Spotless Ad”], ‘Dulux Dog’ [Old English sheepdog in Dulux’s “Let’s color” project] and several others. ” Says Rakesh Jain of RJ Pet House. “Many-a-times, customers do not mind to shell out the premium price for the dog in the trend. When the ‘Hutch Dog’ ad became a huge success, our pethouse was only selling pugs for weeks all-together”.  

Not just dogs, even horse breeds saw the same uphill trend when they were featured in some popular ad campaigns. The first of its kind, SuperBowl commercials in 1991-95 featured ‘Clydesdales’, but in the year 1996 the Clydesdales were shown playing football in snow covered meadow. Remarkably, most of what was shown in that ad was real horses playing football after a 6 month long training.

The emotional resonance featured in the ad (2013) made the stable owners fall head-over-heels in love with “Budweiser Clydesdales” and not just any Clydesdale.

After KitKat realesed two of its commercials featuring a pair of squirrel in 2010 and lovebirds in 2012, the number of squirrel and canary lovers grew in population.

Although animated, the fun loving, chirpy, romancing squirrels and canaries shown in KitKat ads, had cast their spell on the school children and college students. The influence was so high, that the demand for the furry little bunch of love (squirrels) and little-winged-wonders (birds) at pethouses became huge in 2010.

 These brand endorsements are, a visual treat for brand-audience, limelight for amazing pets and creative adaptations for the ad agency. The trend setting orchestration of great brands, beautiful breeds and creative ad-ideas was instrumental and influential in many a breed choice, and most of all, a meaningful pet-and-parent relationship, which lasts for a lifetime.

The second perspective, that our cute furry friends add their own magic to these highly successful advertisements, will be covered in the article ‘Brand and Breed Part 2’.

The post Brand and Breed Part 1 appeared first on Pet Attack.

These popular lines from the very famous story Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs reflect how power comes with beauty, the power turns evil yet ‘the beauty pure from heart’ always wins. Snow White was the fairest beauty on the land. Her stepmother attempted to kill her fearing that Snow White’s beauty to be surpassing her own. Still the real beauty has triumphed the wicked.
The picture isn’t so complicated for the pet animals. Every one is born with their own beauty and grace. Every animal is unique in its own shape, size, colour , activity, gesture, emotions and behaviours. Pets are cool, they are cute, they are magestic and small. They are funny.
Various people have their own concepts of liking and disliking their pets. Some love the soft coated face of their dog with beautiful wavy soft hair that will later turn blonde. Some like their cats with spots and stripes, short curly fur and a black and white nose. How it scrapes his butt in the floor looks intriguing. For a bird lover, it can be a noisy, crazy one with a multi-coloured body. Some want pets that look like a little lamb and is soft as a blanket. Some like their pet to furrow her eyebrows in curiosity and cock her head a little sideways. The demands are innumerable and finding a pet of ‘your choice’ requires hard effort.
Most people want big, fluffy dogs that he or she can use in place of a pillow to hug during sleep. Some love slim, sturdy, long-legged dogs that will scare of anyone on its way. Some prefer small breeds like Spitz; cute, playful and easy to lift. Usually a dog is a member of Carnivorous mammals which includes Wolf, Jackals, Fox etc. Infact dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf. 30-40 million years ago, a small mammal, similar in appearance to a Weasal called Miacis, evolved into the First True Dog- namely Cynodictis. It had a long tail and a fairly brushed coat. Over years, Dogs have developed into several hundred breeds.
There are four major categories of dogs to choose from. Old World Dogs: Malamute, Shai Pei; Mastiff Dogs: English Mastiff etc; Herding type: Border Collie, Labrador etc and Hunting Types: Hounds, Terriers.
Eventually you cannot resist a dog and its alluring factors. They come in a variety of colours- gray to black and browns from light tan to dark chocolate, in a wide variation of patterns. They also come with attractive coats. Dogs will compell you to fall in love with their excellent rituals of sniffing, marking, tail wagging and posturing. Dogs are patiently crafted with exclusive body movements and facial expressions. Besides dogs are very human-like. Once trained properly he can sit with you, listen to you for endless hours, eat from your hand and even bath in your bathtub. He can perceive your thoughts, identify with your emotions and ease off your downcastness. No other animal should be better compared to the god-gifted qualities that a Dog posesses.

Cats are a beautiful genre of mammals. A sleek, curvacious body, its texture, protruding eyes, their claws and the walk inspires millions to adopt them. Cats love their human parent. A kitten will cuddle up on your shoulder and never let you do anything without her. There are different breeds of cats including Abysinnian, Himalayan, Maine Coon, Scottish Fold and Siamese to name a few. The most familiar ones are the domestic short hair and the domestic long haired types. Cats have excellent sight, a keen sense of smell and sharp hearing. They are fast and agile, can jump many times their body length and are great climbers.
Cats and Humans have enjoyed the most symbiotic relationship for thousands of years. Cats weren’t domesticated on purpose, they kind of invited themsleves in. Domestic Cat also called the House cat are characterized by supple, long slung bodies, finely moulded heads, long tails that aid in balance and specialized teeth and claws adjusted to the life of active hunting. The most distinctive feature of the cats is their classy, light footed and coordinated movement, slightly bending its body from one side to the other, which looks exquisite and charms us. Colours ranging from pale grey to brown, many with rosettes and spots and their sensitive whiskers- Cats have made their own mark in the pet-world. And not to mention, being woken up by the sensation of little, soft paws walking all over your face is the best experience ever felt.

Now coming to my favourite section Birds. When do you remember the last time watching a bird sitting on the branch of some nearby tree but within seconds it flies away. Birds are feathered, winged, two legged, warm blooded, egg laying Vertebrates. They are the real voices of the natural world. They are glamourous to snatch anybody’s attention. There are about 10,000 different kinds of birds and a handful of domestic ones. The most important feature of a bird is flight, conquering a speed of 160kmph. Alas! When at home, it has to stay confined in the iron cages, waiting for its long lost desire to fly. Coequally arranged feathers, brightly coloured, contrasting each other, various shaped beaks are the main features for which a bird is considered the most exotic creation on Earth. However birds need experienced owners. Simply walking into a pet shop and picking up any bird of your choice is not a clever idea.
Fishes are the perfect adornment of your house.

There is the Goldfish, Sardine fish, Angel fish, Green Tiger, Crappi, Red Cap, Crocodile fish, Black Molly, Discus fish, Neon Terta, Arowana to choose from. Fishes are brilliant masterpieces of art with the most amazing colours and marking. Watching them swim in an aquarium is the most relaxing thing.

Rabbits are clean, quiet and affectionate pets. Tall and proud ears, mostly pink, fluffy, cotton ball like tail, long back legs, wriggling nose, teeth that love to chew, white, brown or black body and a tender loving heart; Rabbits can be your finest companion. Horses are big animals but if domesticated, will gradually become a big part of your lives. It is similar to a wild horse except their coat, mane and tail are more smooth and shiny after being groomed by human brushes. Horses are gorgeous. Coming in brown, black and white colours, they are the moat fascinating pets; observant, attentive, loyal and regardful, and beautiful in itself. Also their tamed, lustful eyes will completely hypnotize you.

Coming to the end of this discussion, I cannot stop myself from pointing the fact- Why is external beauty important to human beings in the first place? Animals are such agreeable friends. They never judge you nor questions you. Shouldn’t we stop being biased towards the physical attractiveness of animals. Someone said it correct, Humans are the only animals to judge others. Their thought becomes an aberration, titlting from its main aim- physical attractiveness becomes the sole deciding factor- thereby cruelly discriminating between them. Animals do not evaluate between “the pretty” and “the ugly”, so why do we? Question ourselves. I know the answer exists nowhere.

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