Oh no, I am ashamed to say that this made me laugh...
This advert is so very obviously very wrong, but it still made me laugh in the same way I laugh at bad taste disaster jokes! The biggest offence is Harvey Nicks comment on You Tube that,
"Harvey Nichols wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas. The must-have accessory this Christmas is canine."
Harvey Nicks don't sell puppies thankfully, but they do next door at Harrods.
Do we have the strength for another campaign against a major retailer...? And I can see from the comments on You Tube that war has already broken out.
But I thought I'd share it with you and listen to what you think.
Surely a chunky donation to Dogs Trust is in order at the very least for 'borrowing' their slogan to actually encourage the buying of dogs at Christmas...
Just got this comment in from Clarissa Baldwin OBE, the Chief Executive of Dogs Trust and the inventor of the phrase "A dog is for life not just Christmas":
“Dogs Trust is deeply disappointed and concerned by the content of this Harvey Nichols advert. While it may be intended as a tongue in cheek reference to the Dogs Trust slogan ‘A Dog is For Life, Not Just For Christmas’, the depiction of dogs as gifts is extremely irresponsible and undermines the serious message behind this famous saying, which was born out of a need to prevent dogs from being bought as presents for Christmas only to be discarded when the novelty wears off.
"There will be some who view this advert at face value and see nothing wrong with purchasing a puppy on a whim as a gift. Wrapping up dogs with bows and gift tags for humour’s sake is in poor taste and we would strongly urge Harvey Nichols to rethink this advert. We have made contact with Harvey Nichols directly to open up a dialogue about this and we would welcome a response.”
and a comment just in from Wood Green:
Head of Animal Welfare Shelley Wooding said: “While we can see from the final clip of the advert that Harvey Nichols is trying to emphasise the point that dogs are for life and not just for Christmas, there are a number of animal welfare issues within the advert which sadly over look this key message.
"Dogs are not accessories that can be stored in a handbag or even a drawer. Dogs are living beings which are too often thought of as an accessory that can be discarded or replaced like the latest fashions.
As a result of this, their emotional and physical needs are over looked and they are unable to express their natural behaviours.
Adverts like this do nothing to deter people from treating pets as accessories and instead as the life-long commitment and cherished part of the family that they are.”
Comments
Who is the dumb animal in the ad?
Personally, think it may be a good idea to start lobbying advertising standards authority to introduce guidelines regarding the use of animals in adverts and the implications of messages the advert intends (or by virtue of its content) implies and transmits to the public.
This year there seems to have been a lot of animal exploitation by advertisers and retailers who are desperate to engage customers.
Perhaps we can be more effective in stopping this sort of abuse next year if we use the interim period to organise a strong lobby group.
The message at the end is 'not just for Christmas' - surely that is exactly what we want to reinforce about dogs?
Yes, the advert is stupid and a bit daft, but it's nothing like the John Lewis advert which could potentially be taken the wrong way.
I just don't see that the average Joe Bloggs would watch an advert and buy a dog based on the advert?
Intentional? or do they all look like that in Harvey Nicks?
I think that if you don't get the irony, then you're likely to have the wrong attitude anyway. I think we could just about let this one go -- IF they put right pinching a serious slogan without any recompense!!!
It would be nice to emphasise the point at the end, maybe a reference to the Dogs Trust as they are using their slogan.
The even sadder thing is that they won't go to a rescue for one either...
However, I haven't lost my sense of humour or grip on reality. The idea that even the dimmest chav half-wit would rush out to buy a dog purely on the strength of seeing this tongue in cheek ad is even more ludicrous than the humans depicted in it.
Yes, Dogs Trust should get a donation as a decent gesture, but let's not lose credibility for the genuine animal causes by going over the top and protesting about everything involving dogs because we think it might be misconstrued.
I see it now says:
"Harvey Nichols wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Although Dogs Trust was not involved with this video we fully support the charity's famous slogan: A Dog is for Life, not just for Christmas. To see their Christmas message please go to: www.adogisforlife.com"