What would a Super Bowl be if there wasn’t controversy surrounding it? First we have the New England Patriots Deflategate scandal and now we have one of their current contentious commercials which created a firestorm. For those whose heads have been buried in the sand, there was an ad that caused an uproar among animal advocates nationwide.
If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen it, here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blDezzNEXp3E.
Using a cute puppy to promote themselves can’t be so bad, can it?
In this ad we see a Golden Retriever puppy named Buddy on the back of a pickup truck when suddenly Buddy is tossed to the ground after the truck hits a bump. The driver never stops. The courageous pup travels through harsh conditions returning to his breeder only for the woman to say this:
“I’m so glad you made it home… because I just sold you on this website I built with GoDaddy.com.”
While animal activists were outraged over this commercial, I suspected there was more to this than meets the eye. Then, it occurred to me.
Their marketing strategy was to anger a most powerful voice- animal advocates. They knew it would fire up those who speak for the voiceless. Advocates were upset that puppy mills/breeders were glorified in this promotion.
We, animal advocates, are a large powerful force ranging from the young to the old, the poor to the rich, with men, women and children numbering in the millions nationwide.
It worked like a charm. We were putty in their hands. Not only have they received headlines for what they did, people are still talking about it which is their ultimate goal. And they knew it!
They knew a commercial featuring a puppy being sold by a breeder/puppy mill would offend and receive tons of backlash. This company has had controversial ads during the Super Bowl during recent years. This was no exception.
I wasn’t upset nor am I angry over this commercial. The ad was pulled after animal activists filed too many complaints with the company. Or was it?
The ad was always going to be pulled. Why would they have filmed another commercial to fill their 4.5 million, 30 second slot?
Plus, a commercial promoting adoption has been completed as well.
Their marketing strategy worked spectacularly! They knew exactly what would work to get notoriety and be a headline in the news. People are still talking about it.
For me, the ad proved that animal activists are most definitely a powerful force to create change as long as we work together.
Have a story, please email me at tevangelistaepp@yahoo. Like my tv page at https://www.facebook.com/ACloseUpLookAtAnimalWelfareIssues.
The commercial worked like a charm but not for animal people as they think it did. AGREED!!!
I was one of the millions outraged over this commercial. After giving it some thinking, it makes sense what you said. It is all about publicity and they got a lot before tomorrow’s big game. People love to watch the commercials as much as the game. So, they knew it would cause a stir in the animal welfare community. I say it was brilliant too. If only we would’ve ignored it, they wouldn’t been in the headlines. I also don’t think animal activits learned anything except to think they got this commerical removed. They didn’t.
Sick commercial!
The commercials were screened by target audiences before they ever hit the air. If anyone thinks they didn’t know what they were doing, well, they’re fools.
A total set up for animal whack jobs. They knew what they were doing.