Saturday, February 18, 2012

IAMS wants us to think that animals are jerks, just like humans!





Can I take a few minutes to let you know how much I hate the "brilliant, cute" idea of giving animals human voices and attitudes? And I see it all the fricking time- animals attracted to cars, cell phones- you name it, ad agencies insist on pretending that the smaller mammals among us share our sick obsession with gadgets. And don't even get me started on the "male animals are attracted to female humans" bit- ugh.

These particular ads for IAMS pet foods seem designed to make us hate our pets. See, they aren't grateful and loving and sweet and humble- they are egotistical, pompous a-holes who are as wrapped up in themselves as we are.

Ever wish you knew what your pet was thinking? Well, IAMS wants you to know- your pet is thinking how wonderful it is, and how lucky you are to have the privilege of being in the same vicinity with it. Personally, if I could "hear" my pet talk like this, I think I'd feel a lot differently about it. And not better.

When is IAMS and other ad agencies going to give up on the idea that the "lower" animals are just like us, which means that they are arrogant, materialistic, and self-centered dicks? It's not funny or cute, and it never has been.

4 comments:

  1. Well, given that cats don't have very large brains, about the only thoughts we'd get are somewhat basic. The IAMS cat is really thinking "food good" or "full now" or something not at all douchey.

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  2. I have to disagree somewhat with your assessment that the voice given to the animals has them thinking like arrogant jerks. The message I get is that they look great because they eat good food and are healthy, that you have to take care of yourself. The company is full of crap when it says there aren't fillers in its food. The majority may be meat, but you have to have something to bind it all together.

    The end of the cat commercial, where the cat lies right down across what the 'vet' is writing on made me laugh because that's exactly what a cat would do (and what mine have done more than once when I'm working on something).

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  3. I just hate the stupid human voices; they are totally unnecessary. The animals don't know that's a doctor, they don't know the name of the company that made the food they eat, they don't have the slightest clue what the hell is going on. They don't consider themselves "rock stars" because they don't know what that means. They want attention and food, I don't know why that's not enough.

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  4. I have a soft spot for that cat because he looks just like my Sami.

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