ENPA- Against Animal Testing

This ad by the ENPA – Ente Nazionale Protezione Animali challenges the issue of cosmetics and animal testing. The advert uses the Replacement Version of the Pictorial Analogy Template very cleverly by replacing a perfume bottle with a miniature dog.

 

Product space in this ad is represented by the mist coming out of the dog’s mouth, meaning to be the perfume itself. The miniature dog is the symbol used for a perfume container or cosmetics in general and is the organization's representation of the situation. The dog and the perfume, or the product space and the symbol are linked through the fact that the dog is the same size as a perfume bottle would be, and the lady in the picture is holding it exactly the way she would hold a perfume bottle. The product, in this case the perfume bottle is replaced by the miniature dog in order to convey the message of the cruelty of animal testing.

 

Another model that also loosely applies is the Extreme Situation Template, the Absurd Alternative Version. The dog as a perfume bottle is literally impossible and the ad viewers know this, but the extremity of the situation and how impossible it is causes the viewers to infer how negative the conveyed message – in this case animal testing – is.

 

Along with the use of these models, the ad is also effective in its use of an actual animal. A study investigating the use of animals in advertising found that when people view an ad with an animal present, they use more heuristic processing than systematic and this leads to an increased positive attitude towards the ad and the message or brand (Lancendorfer, K.M., Atkin, J.L. & Reece, B.B., 2006).

 

 

Goldenberg, J., Mazursky, D., Solomon, S. (1999). The fundamental templates of quality ads. Marketing Science, 18, 333-351.

 

Lancendorfer, K.M., Atkin, J.L. & Reece, B.B. (2006). Animals in advertising: Love dogs? Love the ad! Journal of Business Research, 61, 384-391.