Animals have long been featured in advertising campaigns and have an undeniable power to capture attention, evoke emotion and inspire feelings about a particular ad or brand.
That said, there are pet-tential pitfalls that come with the use of animals in advertising that could be deemed harmful, offensive or irresponsible by the ASA.
Read our tips below to ensure that you achieve mammoth success in your advertising.
Beware the emu…lation!
Marketers should approach with caution when considering depicting anything that is potentially harmful to animals and/or could feasibly result in harmful emulation.
The ASA received a number of complaints about an ad which showed a dog being fed Christmas pudding. Whilst the ASA considered that, generally speaking, pet owners would know not to feed their animals food which are inadequate for their diets (and as a result concluded the ad did not breach the Code), it illustrated the necessity for marketers to ensure that their ads do not condone or encourage behaviour that could harm animals.
Similarly, the depiction of certain interactions with and behaviour towards animals can risk ruffling feathers. The RSCPA was one, of a number of others, who complained that an ad which featured a scene showing a child sitting on the back of a large dog was irresponsible as it could condone and encourage emulation, thereby resulting in harm. In this instance, the ASA concluded that, due to a combination of the scheduling restriction and the fantastical nature of the scene, the ad was unlikely to result in emulated behaviour harmful to animals and did not break the rules.
Whilst neither of these cases were upheld, purr-lease bear in mind that whilst humorous or bizarre elements can afford marketers a degree of leeway, they do not provide free rein, and that humorous or fantastical ads in which animals are featured will still have to toe the line.
Ensure your advertising doesn’t distress or frighten - keep it paws-itively pleasant
Ads must not contain anything likely to cause serious or widespread offence, or undue fear and distress. An ad for a mobile app game, which showed two wounded animals in visible distress, with one being killed instantly, was deemed by the ASA to be offensive.
It may come as no surprise that consumers are generally more tolerant of upsetting content appearing in ads for charitable causes than they would be in ads for unrelated organisations or commercial companies. A recent ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation which featured a fishmonger holding a fish from one side, and the same man holding a dead cat from another, stayed the right side of the line due to the depiction of the animal being relatively mild.
However, in contrast, the use of blood and gore in a Viva! ad about the milk used in yoghurts was ruled to be overly frightening and distressing.
An ele-phantastic point to remember is that audience and targeting are important for campaigns and what might be acceptable in a targeted ad, such as an email to subscribers of a particular charity, might not be acceptable in untargeted media.
When health claims go a bit wild
If you’re marketing pet medicines, or you’re making any direct or implied claims in your ad that a product is effective in treating an adverse health condition in animals, your product must be licensed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (regardless of any evidence held).
Marketers may, however, make general claims about the health benefits of their non-medicinal products – as long you hold robust evidence for the claims. Claims that a supplement improved equine joint health and a product repelled fleas and ticks were deemed unacceptable by the ASA as the advertisers did not hold robust evidence to support them.
For more on this, see our article on health claims for animals.
Your mane priority is looking after your animals!
When making creative decisions, is important for advertisers to be mindful of the welfare needs of the animals they feature in their content, including the suitability of the environment and behaviour patterns.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has produced guidance on the responsible use of pets in advertising, which provides a helpful starting point in learning more about the particular welfare needs of different animals.
More advice on these issues can be found by searching our AdviceOnline library. And don’t wing it – for further bespoke advice, please contact our eager beavers on the Copy Advice team.
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