Pooch Power!!

Is it just this country that’s nuts about animals in advertising? Everywhere in our office we’ve got pictures of pooches looking adoringly down at us from calendars and wall hangings – we just can’t get enough of them and it would seem nor can anyone else.

Even Go Compare has resorted to using a scruffy little dog to get everyone going gaga, and how popular is the EDF ad with Zingy riding his new friend Morgan the Bassett Hound's back? Just recently ‘Three’ used a moon-walking Shetland pony in its national advertising, which went viral and was watched on YouTube 2.7 million times, had 658,000 Facebook shares, 18,000 Twitter shares and 180,000 visits to ThePonyMixer App – a web based app allowing people to create their own moon-walking pony ad! How interactive can you get?! (Source: 3-Monkeys.co.uk)

Compare the Market’s meerkats claimed top spot as most liked TV ad in 2012, with 4 out of the top 10 TV ads containing animals: In 3rd place was the Kerrygold mythical hero of Irish folklore carrying a cow up a mountain, Birds Eye’s Polar Bear with William Defoe’s voice was voted 5th most liked TV ad, the Andrex puppies were voted 7th most popular TV ad, followed by Thinkbox’s The Dog and The Rabbit advert. (Source: The Drum Modern Marketing & Media December 2012)

So what is it that makes these ads so popular? At The Plum Consultancy we believe that the affinity we have with animals and the fascination we have with them being clever, doing tricks and showing their adorable side releases endorphins which make us feel really good. We have clients who sponsor animal sanctuaries and who train their dogs to visit patients in hospices to allow for the unconditional love of the animal to be felt by the patients. Not only are they supporting very worthy causes but it makes them feel good too. Just stroking a dog, a rabbit or a cat can bring such happiness to some people and being a nation of animal lovers, most of us can empathise with this.

Of course, we can’t all afford TV ads, but if you want the feel-good factor to rub off on your clients, then consider supporting or working with animals. Some of our clients are doing so within their local communities and it is not only providing great publicity for them but their customers are reaping the rewards too.

If you want to know more about how you can do this please contact us at www.theplumconsultancy.com and get involved with Pooch Power!