Hill_Rough+Draft

Tara Hill Historical Inquiry Paper October 4, 2010 Rough Draft

How are Dogs Portrayed in Commercial Advertising? In today’s world, advertising is no doubt a big part of American culture as it is literally found almost everywhere one looks. Many companies use dogs as the central figures in their advertisements. How, then, are dogs portrayed in American culture, specifically in commercial advertising? What messages are advertisers trying to get across to their audience by using dogs? From analyzing some of the most popular dogs made famous in American culture, it is apparent that commercial advertisers have a specific purpose when using dogs in their advertisements. One can assume that these advertisers believe that using dogs will be beneficial when trying to persuade their targeted audience to buy their products, ideals, or services. In today’s society, dogs are known as the ultimate companion animal and are usually considered part of our families. Advertisers know this and take advantage of the notion of dogs as “man’s best friend.” Therefore, advertisers do indeed portray dogs in this positive light in hopes that consumers will more readily buy their products or services.

One company that is known for its use of dogs in their advertising and television commercials is Cottonelle, a toilet paper brand produced by Kimberly Clark. The mascot of this popular brand is no other than a cute Labrador Retriever puppy. It is common knowledge that puppies grow remarkably fast, so of course, the brand must use more than one puppy for its television commercials. Commercial advertisers frequently look to increase consumption of their products or services through branding. This entails the repetition of an image or product name in an attempt to get consumers to associate related qualities with the brand ([]). This is exactly what Cottonelle does when using the puppy as an image along with the brand name. Most consumers recognize or know of the brand right away solely because it is associated with a cute puppy. Not only does the puppy appear on the toilet paper packaging itself, but it stars in the brand’s television commercials. After analyzing the Cottonelle puppy in several of the company’s signature commercials, it is evident that the puppy is being portrayed in a “cute, cuddly, don’t you want to hold me” type of way. For instance, in one commercial, Cottonelle Ultra toilet paper is being advertised. The puppy is rolling around on his back on top of the toilet paper, which tells consumers that the toilet paper is soft and strong ([]). The slogan of Cottonelle is “Be kind to your behind” and the puppy is trying to portray that message. On the official Cottonelle website, there is a message regarding their signature puppy mascot that reads, “This little puppy is on a big mission: to get people everywhere to be kind to their behinds. Watch him work his cute and cuddly charms to spread the word in these TV commercials” ([]). Therefore, the message is clear: the Cottonelle mascot is portrayed as the lovable little puppy who wants us to choose soft toilet paper for our well being. The puppy is even given a signature voice, which tells the viewer that the puppy is a male. Perhaps giving the puppy a humanlike characteristic makes the viewers relate to the puppy even more, believing that they need to indulge in Cottonelle’s soft toilet paper. In another commercial, which also advertises Cottonelle Ultra toilet paper, the puppy is being pampered and receiving the ultimate treatment. He is shown riding in a nice car, going to the spa and getting his nails filed, getting a massage, getting his fur trimmed, and sitting in a hot tub filled with rose petals ([]). The life of luxury is compared to the soft toilet paper. The puppy is shown doing things that only some humans get to do. It is safe to say that this commercial is definitely illustrating the puppy in a positive light.

Another dog that has been made famous in America is Paddington, the Golden Retriever in Bush’s Baked Beans commercials. In the commercials, Paddington is known as “Duke.” The dog’s owner in the commercials is a man named Jay Bush, who is the actual president of Bush’s Baked Beans. Jay Bush’s own dog, Duffy “Duke” was originally supposed to star in the commercials with him, but the dog was just too camera shy and the family said they would miss their beloved family pet too much when he was on the road. Therefore, they found Paddington, a trained dog, to portray Duke in commercial ([]). Like the puppy in the Cottonelle commercials, Duke is also given human-like characteristics. In each commercial, he speaks in a deep voice and is even shown at times conversing with humans. The dog’s signature line is “Roll that beautiful bean footage.” In the commercials, the owner begs Duke to keep the secret family recipe because Duke is always threatening to sell it. Duke is definitely portrayed as “man’s best friend” in these commercials because he is the only “person” that Jay has told the recipe to except for his family members ( []). The dog is definitely given the spotlight in these commercials and is given a humorous character. The dog’s funny personality and actions catches the viewer’s attention right away ( [] ). Not to mention, Golden Retrievers are known as the perfect American family dog. Therefore, this specific breed of dog makes the character of Duke even more likeable. Duke even travels along with Jay Bush to events so they can meet their loyal fans. Once again, using a dog as the primary focus in selling a product goes back to the way dogs are portrayed in American culture: as part of our families and sometimes even our best friends.

A type of commercial that is somewhat different from the last two is an animal cruelty commercial from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In this commercial, Sarah McLachlan is the spokesperson. The commercial’s purpose is to inform others of the problem of animal cruelty. The commercial starts off with a series of pictures of wounded and injured animals, a lot of which are dogs. The images of dogs are heart breaking and have a powerful effect on viewers. Dogs are shown in cages, peering out at the camera with big, sad eyes. Soon after, a dog is shown limping and struggling to get off of his blanket on the floor. Sarah McLachlan is then shown sitting on the couch with a Golden Retriever by her side. She is petting the dog as she speaks about the seriousness of animal abuse and how we, the audience, can help by making a monthly donation. At one point, the camera switches screenshots to a dog that is missing an ear and then to a shot where a man is carrying a dog with a broken leg ( [] ). The dogs in the commercial are portrayed as helpless, innocent creatures that rely solely on humans for their care and well being. The way the dogs are shown in the clip depicts that they are desperately in need of our compassion and help. Also, these dogs are represented as creatures that deserve nothing less than love and a good home. One other prominent message is how the golden retriever is sitting on the couch. The dog is shown sitting at the same level as Sarah McLachlan. This image gives off the idea that even though dogs are animals, they should be treated with the same love and respect that humans are entitled to. Similar to the last two commercials discussed, these dogs are given the “man’s best friend” notion. This is especially obvious when an animal caretaker kisses a neglected looking Chihuahua on the head. This commercial boldly sends out the message that dogs are animals worth fighting for and spending our hard earned money on. One can imply that this commercial also sends out the message that people who neglect and abuse animals are horrible, bad people. Therefore, it is obvious that the commercial regards dogs as important animals.

Some popular commercials that many would remember after hearing a brief description are the K9 Advantix flea treatment commercials. In one of the brand’s commercials, a Labrador Retriever puppy (that always wears a blue bandana with the K9 Advantix logo) is shown singing in a little boy’s voice: “Hello mother, hello father…fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, really bother!” In the commercial, the puppy is portrayed as a kid at camp, writing to his parents about the package they sent, which contained the flea treatment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SygLtvh90vQ&feature=related). The song the puppy sings at the beginning is extremely catchy and cute. Since the puppy is presented as a “child” that was sent off to a summer camp, it is safe to say that this dog, like many others described before, is given human-like characteristics to grab the viewer’s attention and interest. The K9 Advantix mascot is very similar to the Cottonelle mascot. Both dogs are Labrador Retreiver puppies that speak in a male voice. In addition, the dogs are both shown as cute, playful puppies that are wagging their tails because of their happiness about the products being advertised. In another K9 Advantix commercial, the main mascot is shown along with four other dogs. The main message in this commercial is, “I always want more” ([]). The main puppy is shown carrying a huge bone, a brown Labrador Retriever is holding a frisbee in his mouth, a shaggy haired dog is getting a belly rub, a Great Dane is talking a walk with his owner, and a Bull Mastiff is taking up most of the bed while sleeping with his owner. Each dog wants something more: a bigger bone, more fetches, more belly rubs, more walks, and more space on the bed. Also, four of the dogs in the commercial are given a voice to communicate what they want more of. Three out of the four voices are male. Then, at the conclusion of the commercial, the speaker says that it is impossible to give your dog more of everything but that protection is something you should never give your pets less of. This is when the flea treatment is advertised. In the commercial, the dogs are being treated well by their owners, some would even say spoiled. Therefore, the commercial is portraying that dogs should be well treated, loved, and taken care of. The commercial would not be trying to sell the flea treatment if the makers of the product did not think keeping pets healthy were important. The dog shown taking up the whole bed depicts just how attached we can get with our pets. For the most part, the commercial accurately depicts how dogs are portrayed in America.

After analyzing numerous commercials that place dogs in the spotlight, it is evident that commercial advertisers typically portray dogs as the perfect American family pet, which is the popular opinion of most Americans today. Although dogs are represented differently in each commercial, they are still being shown in a positive light. Also, Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers are two of the most popular breeds in the United States. Most of the commercials that were analyzed showed at least one of these breeds. Consequently, advertisers take advantage of breed popularity and thus show these types of dogs in their commercials. Americans can relate to these commercials because many have a dog that they consider their family member. Whether the advertiser’s purpose for using dogs in commercials is to sell a product or to advocate against animal cruelty, one thing is for certain: dogs are known as our loyal companions and best friends, and that is how most advertisers choose to portray them.

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