Can anyone confirm or deny the authenticity of these supposedly real dog food ads from Australia and/or New Zealand?
There appears to be such a company:
There are also entries in NZ yellow page directories under “pet products”.
Well, this is a little classier than the Hitler potato chip ads.
yabob, I realize that such a company really exists; the page I mentioned in the OP also provides a link. That doesn’t mean the ads can’t be fake, though.
I am wondering if anyone has seen these ads, for example on billboards or in magazines. I’m pretty sure they couldn’t get away with it in the U.S., but I don’t know about those wacky lands in the southern hemisphere.
My vote would be that they are genuine (although I don’t think those could run in the U.K. either unless the company did it deliberately, knowing that the resultant outcry would ensure much more publicity than the actual cost of the advertising.) All the same, I think I’ll be coming back to see what the verdict is!
Even if they aren’t for real, you’ve got to admit they’re pretty clever.
I’ve got a message out to my friends down under, but no response yet.
Perhaps everyone in Australia is too busy with the Olympics to check up on this for me. I still have no clue whether these ads are genuine or not. Help!
I haven’t seen them in Australia, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were real New Zealand ads.
If they’re real, they shouldn’t be. Blech.
Look, I’m as much a fan of tasteless, gross, and incredibly banal humor as the next Netizen…but there are just some things that do not belong in a public advertisement, all right??
(Sheesh…and good luck convincing someone to buy your product now, which is supposedly the whole point of advertising in the first damn place…)
Yes, they are real dog food ads.
They appeared in a few local glossy magazines about a year ago I think.
They also did the email rounds about 6 mths ago.
As for being offensive, I personally don’t mind them but I know a few did.
(live from Christchurch, New Zealand)
Thanks for the info, smurfy. I’m relieved to finally get a straight (dope) answer. I hope you’re not offended by my mixing up Australia and New Zealand. These ads were originally presented to me as Australian.
Oh, and welcome to to the SDMB.