Animals in the media
The choices that people make in terms of the types of dogs, cats and other companion animals they decide to buy is heavily influenced by the media and whatever is the current fashion or trend.
TV shows, the latest Hollywood movies, children’s programmes and corporate advertising campaigns all play a part in shaping and influencing the general public’s perception of what is “cute” or might be a good choice for their next family pet.
By its very nature, advertising is designed to draw people in, connect with them and influence their behaviour. It therefore follows that images used in the media have a strong impact on the purchasing behaviour of the public and studies have shown a clear link between the use of animals who have extreme body shapes in the media and the buying decisions of the general public.
We believe that any company or individual who uses animals in their advertising, or across other forms of the media and social media, has a duty to do so responsibly and avoid using animals or images of animals who have extreme conformations.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has issued specific advice about the use of animals with extreme body shapes by the media and has warned companies and individuals against using any animal with an extreme conformation due to the risk of encouraging public demand for these animals to be produced. Failure to follow this advice could land companies in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority who state that anyone using animals in the media must follow the BVA advice and guidance.
The IHA is a valuable tool for anyone who is thinking of using an animal in their marketing or media projects.
This enables them to check that the animal they are considering (or image/ depiction of an animal) has a healthy body shape and does not suffer from extreme conformation traits. Any animal (or image of an animal) that has any of the traits identified in the IHA should not be used.
Go to the IHA tool now to check if an animal you or your company are interested in using in the media would be a responsible choice.
We believe that companies who make a commitment to advertise/ use animals in the media responsibly should be praised.
we are asking companies to sign up to our “Responsible Use of Animals in the Media” commitment by pledging to only use animals with healthy body shapes in their media and marketing and, in respect of dogs, those who have passed all 10 of the IHA criteria. Those companies who make this commitment will be listed on this site in recognition of our thanks to them for using animals in the media responsibly.
To find out more about our Responsible Use of Animals in the Media commitment, click here to view the full pledge document.
