Save a dog. Save a cat. Save a life!
Following a discussion in my adpr1400 course last week I can’t seem to get the images we are shown in commercial ads for the Humane Society out of my head. During the discussion my colleagues and I began to wonder if we have actually ever seen a commercial ad for the Humane Society encouraging viewers to come and adopt a pet or were we all drawing on images that we could recall from advertisements encouraging people to donate money to help save abused/mistreated animals. This topic is very interesting to me because the only ads I can recall seeing are those that try to guilt viewers into donating money to help save mistreated animals.
As someone who doesn’t own a pet or have the desire to, I was unaware that people could actually go to the Humane Society and choose an animal to “adopt”. Some may find my confession surprising but put yourself in my shoes. If you are someone who doesn’t see pet ownership as something you would be interested in for a variety of reasons, one being your dislike/fear of animals, your knowledge on the subject will be limited compared to those who see pet ownership as a necessity. Those who are less informed about ways to go about pet ownership receive their information mainly from different forms of advertising.
The first Humane Society commercial is the one that we typically see aired on television. The commercial is designed to evoke a sense of guilt in viewers and encourage them to donate money to help take care of abused/injured animals. Images of physically and emotionally abused animals flash throughout the entire commercial with a slow melody playing in the background which does create a sad mood.
The second commercial takes a different spin on the Humane Society outlook and what it has to offer. This commercial shows a lot of fun and happy animals; there is some comedy added to the commercial as well because some of the animals in the video are “talking” about how they would be wonderful pets for their potential owners. This commercial is the one that we need to see, but why don’t we see it.
I think the lack of positive images and information about how to go about ADOPTING pets from the Humane Society shows viewers one aspect of what it has to offer; viewers see the Humane Society as a place that shelters helpless animals and needs donations to keep business afloat. This image might encourage some animal lovers to go adopt a pet or get involved while it may deter others from doing the same thing by affirming their preconceived notion. Contrary to preconceived notions help by many people interested in buying a new pet, all of the pets from the Humane Society don’t have physical defects or suffer from abuse, potential owners will receive information that tells them all about the pet they are interested in (shot records, background, etc.)
There needs to be more actual commercial ads for the Humane Society as a place where one can pick up a loving pet to serve as an addition to their families and not just those that make viewers feel guilty.
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