Pedigree's Loneliness Ad Appeal

When I was thinking of what I was going to write about for this blog, my dog came up to me and started barking. I didn't know what she was trying to tell me, but then she slowly walked over to her empty food bowl and sat there. She obviously wanted food, so I went to the garage and got our Pedigree dog food out, which inspired me to write this blog. I never could have imagined how far-fetched and irrelevant the print ads for this brand were going to be.

Here is a picture of one of the many loneliness-themed ads that I found online for this product:


















Before I start discussing the messages, appeals, and techniques that are in this ad, I'm going to inform you that it is trying to first of all, get viewers to buy a dog and to get their new dogs Pedigree dog food. In this print ad, there are way too many things to discuss, so I am going to limit myself to only a few.

First of all, the overall message is that if you adopt a dog, then you will never be alone on a beach like the man in the first image of the ad.

Second of all, the advertisers use an old man standing alone on a beach, which appeals to the need for affiliation. This is the case because in the first image, he is all by himself on a beach, which is very sad to many people, including myself. Although, in the second picture, it looks so much more appealing since there is a man with his dog, which is obviously a man's best friend, right? When viewers see this, they will think that if they don't get a dog then they will be left all alone on a beach just like the old man in this picture.

Thirdly, the technique of simple solutions was used in this ad. The advertisers are guiding the audience towards the idea that if you a get a dog, you will no longer be alone or sad. This is so misleading because having a dog isn't like having friends or people to talk to since you can't communicate with them like you can with a human being. So overall, this simple solution really isn't a solution at all.

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think!