by Joe Smiley
Copywriter

 

Life is all about choices. Chocolate or vanilla. Paper or plastic. Cats or dogs. When it comes to our four-legged friends, perhaps you fall into both categories – that chunk of the Venn diagram that braves both litter and slobber – but chances are you consider yourself one or the other. It’s a schism that’s long divided this great nation, but here in the advertising world, our allegiance is clear: we love dogs. We ab-so-lutely adore them. We put them on billboards, web banners, and TV screens. We make them bark for cheap beer and wag their tails for even cheaper Mexican food. They’ve been a steadfast ally of our industry since time immemorial and there’s no sign of that relationship losing steam. Why, you ask? One could simply chalk it up to trainability, but I like to think it goes deeper than that.

You see, advertising isn’t just about selling stuff; it’s also about forming an emotional connection of some kind with an audience. Advertising’s only effective when it relates – and just about nothing relates to more people than dogs. They span the political spectrum; they cross socio-economic lines; they break racial and cultural barriers; and they do well with young and old alike. Even those who claim to not like dogs – whatever that means – still enjoy looking at dogs. And that’s because we see ourselves in them. They have emotions. They have looks. As George Carlin once pointed out, dogs have eyebrows which give them expression, while cats, on the other hand, “look at you coldly, as if they’re testing new eyes.” And that range in expression is key when promoting everything from low, low prices to luxury cars. If we’re lucky, it makes you feel something. And if our client is lucky, it makes you buy something.

So, with that in mind, what are some of the best dog-centric advertisements? I consulted the Labs with that very question. The responses were varied, unexpected, and all-around Genius. Here’s a sampling:

Dogs Playing Poker

Long before the world had Joe Camel, we had a few dogs sitting around a table playing poker and enjoying a smoke. Originally commissioned to sell cigars, this series of paintings serve as one of the rare examples of an advertising concept that took on a life of its own and burrowed its way into the American pop culture landscape.

Alex the Dog – Stroh’s Beer

Spuds MacKenzie may have been Budweiser’s “original party animal,” but just a few years prior, there was Alex from Stroh’s Beer. What’s interesting about this spot is the amount of screen time Alex the Dog gets. When using an animal to schlep a product, you typically want the audience to see it as much as possible. But here, the success of the spots rest on what the audience doesn’t see. Bold choice.

Singing Puppy – K9 Advantix

Getting an audience to remember the selling points of your product isn’t easy. But catchy jingles always help. (Nearly twenty years later, I still find myself humming this every now and then) Cute animals are a major asset, too. K9 Advantix went with both by repurposing a classic melody for a pint-sized pup writing home from summer camp. Who knew a song about fleas and ticks and other bloodsucking parasitic critters could be so delightful?

Nipper – RCA Victor

Much like Dogs Playing Poker, the below image began as a painting, this one titled His Master’s Voice. But it quickly found its way onto the logos for numerous record companies in the early 20th century, most notably RCA Victor. It’s easy to see why. Everybody knows the head tilt. It’s the moment when a dog hears something inexplicable that registers on an emotional level, a moment of knee-jerk, primal intrigue. And as humans, we kinda experience this sensation with music, too. When we hear something we like, it grabs us. For whatever reason, it captures our attention and pulls us in. We may not know why, and we may not be able to put it into words. But when the right song or piece of music hits us, it’s like magic.

Herding Dog – Guinness

Anybody who’s ever owned a dog knows who the real master is. It’s not the human. It’s the pooch. And this spot for Guinness showcases that eternal truth in grand fashion. While most spots struggle to hold an audience’s attention for thirty seconds, this one does it for over two-and-a-half minutes. And it’s racked up nearly five million views since going online. That’ll do, dog. That’ll do.

And if you haven’t already seen her, there’s an up-and-comer in the business you should really check out. We think she’s pretty great. But then again, we might be slightly biased.