Are you a making right pigs ear of your animal-inclusive marketing? Maybe you’re having a mare of a time understanding the rules? We’ve brought our wise advertising owls with expert advice that’ll help you bring your marketing home to roost.
Don’t let your ads fall at the first hurdle
Your ads will quickly find themselves sleeping with the fishes if they show any animals being abused, mistreated or badly cared for. Ads showing animals being directly harmed, regardless of whether that content is fictional or real, will almost certainly be problematic. Graphic or gory imagery of animals in untargeted mediums may leave you in the doghouse too. Distressing content can be included in very certain circumstances with the proper considerations. Marketers should remain eagle-eyed to how animals are interacted with in your ads. Though not always an issue, monkey-see, monkey do and ads that may directly or inadvertently encourage unsafe emulation may be a thorn in the paw of advertisers.
Turning ads for a dog’s dinner into the cat’s meow
It’s feeding time at the zoo and marketers need to be careful what they’re throwing into the lion’s den. Marketers should paws on any ad campaigns that show food being eaten by animals that is harmful for them to eat. Competition in the pet food industry is nearly as fierce as a chihuahua on a diet but denigrating your competitors will leave you with coughing up more than hairballs. The last course on this involves claims about your pet food’s green credentials. You’ll be left red in the race if you don’t adequately substantiate those claims.
Get your veterinary and medicine claims spot on
I don’t know about your dear reader, but I’d move heaven and earth if my pet was ill. I’m not the only one either. Marketers promoting veterinary services should ensure they keep in mind our advice on pricing claims to avoid angry pet owners. You don’t need an elephant’s memory to remember that veterinary medicines must be licensed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. You definitely don’t want to forget that the claims must conform to the product’s summary of product characteristics either. We’re not horsing around when advertisers make health claims about food supplements for animals. Avoid being bucked off your trusty steed and make sure you can substantiate those claims too.
Are your animal testing and other certification claims ruff around the edges?
Racoons might well be certified mischief-makers but marketers looking to promote their certifications need to do more than look extremely cute. Consumer’s need to be able to understand what standards marketers are claiming to meet and the degree in which they are claimed to have been met. Claims about the welfare of animals must be substantiated to avoid being scratched out. If marketers are promoting organic claims, much like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, remember to consider the full life cycle of the product. Animal testing and medical research claims should be given due consideration to avoid a whole stampede of problems too.
Hold your horses when using animals in certain sectors
Have you ever seen an ad for beer featuring Winnie the Pooh? There’s probably a reason for that (and not just because he’s more of a wine drinker). Marketers should be wary of including animals (particularly cute or cuddly animals) that could be considered of particular appeal to children in age-restricted sectors. Though not all depictions of animals in those sectors will bite marketers, bright and colourful depictions of animals should be carefully presented. Cartoon or other non-fictional depictions don’t exempt marketers either. Probably not a good idea to show Bluey at the casino then!
Play fetch with our Copy Advice
Bring our Copy Advice team into the menagerie for when you’re about to let the dogs out on your ads featuring animals. Our team of experts can help you prevent ads from being chewed up before they have a chance to be played with. With their expert help, you’ll be belly up in front of the fire before you know it.
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