By Ian Pearson on Apr 7, 2021
The key in advertising is to offer people something that will immediately draw their attention. For a large group of dog lovers, there’s nothing more immersive and attention-grabbing than a cute furry friend. However, a commercial should be well-crafted and execute a specific brand message. You can’t just cram images and videos of dogs and hope that it will reach its mark. Instead, you need to figure out how to set up a commercial around dogs and allow everyone’s favorite pets to help form a branded message. Speaking of which, here are some of the best dog commercials in history and a couple of lessons you can learn from them.
Ski Trip - Subaru
This particular commercial stands for everything that a commercial should be – short, entertaining, and efficient. The plot is very simple, dogs driving a Subaru. The message is more than clear. This vehicle is so well-optimized for dogs that they can use it even without human assistance. This is, of course, an exaggeration but one used strategically to send a strong message. The video has no voiceover, no music, and no messages until the very end. In the end, there are just two phrases (black font on white background) saying – dog tested; dog approved. The lack of any other type of textual information is what makes this message stick even harder.
Pedigree – We’re for Dogs
This particular commercial is a piece of art in its simplicity. A simple instrumental with a voiceover and a well-crafted overlay of dogs being dogs. In 2021, a lot of companies believe that the best way to step forward is to start celebrating diversity. The thing is that humans aren’t the only species with the diversity of race, origin, shape, size, and interests. While the concept of this video is simple – listing all the reasons why people love dogs, it’s the execution of the commercial that makes it special. Only a high-end video production can achieve all of this in just one minute. The coordination between the instrumental, narration, and images on the screen is simply flawless.
Guide Dogs Interviews
This witty commercial is one of the best examples of how comedy can be used in order to send a quick message. However, this video is about more than just comedy. A lot of people believe that requirements on the job market are ridiculously high. Here, a quick comparison is made about how even the most qualified of interviewees wouldn’t pass a job interview for a guide dog. The strongest selling point of this commercial is not humor and, although wholesome, it’s definitely not lighthearted. It’s about the recognition for these unsung heroes of the modern age and their pivotal role in our society.
Amazon Prime
The reason why we use this commercial as an example is due to the fact that it differs in one crucial thing. First of all, it’s not about dogs or dog-related items. It merely uses a dog as a cute, lovable creature in order to evoke a sense of sympathy from the watcher. Regardless of what your personal opinion may be, a commercial can be a piece of art. It is a role of a piece of art to evoke a certain emotion amongst its watchers. This way, long after the audience finishes watching the commercial, they may forget what the contents were but they won’t forget how it made them feel. The base message is quite simple, you can use Amazon prime, even to help someone in need. Even to help someone you love.
VW Start Wars Dogs Commercial
Speaking of unusual, creative, and unique, this particular commercial manages to hit all three of these niches. The concept is simple, 11 dogs of different breeds bark to the tune of Star Wars Imperial March. This is perhaps the best example of how dogs can be combined with popular culture in order to create something universally loved. Try making a Venn diagram of people who love Star Wars and people who love dogs and you will end up with a huge overlapping section. Therefore, it may seem like something niche on the surface, in reality, it’s a fail-proof idea. Some of the dogs in the commercial are even dressed as Wookiees and Ewoks for cuteness overload.
In Conclusion
Lastly, dogs are some of the most amazing creatures in the world, which is why there’s no surprise that so many people are in love with them. The fact that they have so many human features, makes them so perfectly relatable. With the right concept, story, idea, and narration, you can easily market anything using dogs as star actors. The key thing is that you learn how to do this in the most organic and effortless manner. With the right idea, love for dogs, and some basic video editing skills, you can achieve quite a bit.
