Online advertising going to the dogs

I’m a dog lover and a sucker for pretty much anything pooch-related so the dog-themed ads that I’ve been seeing over the past few days have definitely caught my eye!

First, I noticed the Amnesty International ad, which features a dog being treated like a person to illustrate that point that in many places around the world, people are being treated like animals. Then there was the more light-hearted “Duke the SPCA Condom Dog.” This one targets Malaysia, encouraging responsible pet ownership – a new take on the “spay or neuter your pets” mantra we in the US have been hearing for decades.

And in light of the fact that Sunday was World Animal Day, The Ad Council, Maddie’s Fund, and The Humane Society teamed up to make the case for adopting pets from shelters.

There have been a few other pet-related ad campaigns that have been launched over the past week or so, but these are the ones that struck a chord with me. Yet I’m forced to think about their relevance and if they’re actually having the desired affect.

Let’s look at the Amnesty spot. I’m a pet lover so tugging on my heartstrings to drive home a point about humans and putting it in the context of animals is a good step. I often think that my dogs live better than some people and I know that to a certain extent the time, money and energy I spend on them is ridiculous. But what am I supposed to do about that?  The Amnesty International ad is clever, but when I’m done watching it, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do except feel guilty that I have dogs I put in clothes. There’s not really a call to action.

The condom ad seems to have somewhat of a problem (that dog lovers will be drawn do this ad, but they will have already done what’s best for their pet), but given that it’s running in Malaysia, I can say from first hand experience that pet lovers are not necessarily clued in to spaying and neutering. If it was running in the US I might think it wasn’t as poignant but given that it’s designed for an Malaysian audience I think it hits home.

Shelter Pet ads are a little strange and I suspect not as funny as the agency who designed them thinks they are, but it’s another case of tugging on the heartstrings – letting people know what kind of good, sweet dogs are in shelters and hopefully motivating some rescue adoptions. An understandable move, but it’s likely that someone contemplating getting a dog already knows about their options, and someone who hasn’t put much thought into pet ownership probably shouldn’t be adopting any way.

Many ads in general face these types of problems so it’s nothing new. But seeing it in light of a dog-related scenario put a different spin on it for me!