In my quest to find upbeat pet adoption videos, I’ve come across some that have been sitting in my “Drafts” file because I’m just not sure about them. But maybe I’m being too critical. What do you think?

From the Arizona Humane Society:

I like the idea,  but wish there were more pets, fewer people. It’s a little too earnest for my tastes, too.

Created for the Humane Educational Society of  Chattanooga, Tennessee:

It’s the choppy — arty? — production, not the sentiments, that made me hesitate about this PSA.

From the Michigan Humane Society:

I might have gone for this one if I wasn’t aware of a much funnier Canadian version, with far more cats.

Speaking of cats…I’m going to leave you with a sure-fire laugh from an oldie but goodie ad. It’s not a pet adoption video, but it does convey the message of one that I’ve featured, that real men love cats:

 

9 thoughts on “Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Make Me Want to Kill Myself: Outtakes”

  1. I agree with you about the first one. It reminds me way too much of those AIDS Awareness commercials. I think pet ads should be fun and make you smile. The first two fail for just that reason. They also aren’t particularly memorable.

    The last two, however, definitely made me laugh. 🙂 As I tell people all the time, the reason I agreed to go out with my husband was because he had a cat.

  2. I actually like the first one – but I like the PSA with the cop who pulled over the speeder better. Funnier but still from the dog’s perspective.

    The production in the second two is not as good as it could be, but I tend to give nonprofits a pass knowing they have such a small budget for marketing.

    The bottom line is anything that makes people think about adopting without playing the guilt card is alright by me!

    1. Thanks for the feedback, Vicki! I agree with you that these are definitely send the right message — adoption without guilt! — but I’m not giving nonprofits a pass entirely. So many of the great PSAs I’ve shown were done on a shoestring, with so many really talented people volunteering their time for the cause.

  3. Yeah, I’m kinda with Vicki this year – anything done for the good is good. (Just trying to practice our new national slogan, “it’s all good” – ‘course next time someone says that to me I may rip their face off :); but, yeah, frankly I liked all the spots. The camera work sucked on the one about the ‘used’ cat giveaway,but the idea is so great I had to look past that, (though you said it’s been used before better I’d never seen the other one), but of course the herding cats was incredible and could be said to promote cat adoption, I agree!

    1. Glad I posted these, then! I too feel like ripping off the face of anyone who says “It’s all good” by the way. It’s NOT all good. That’s why we need adoption videos 😉

      Update: I just got back from the hardware store where I saw a truck with the license plate “It’s All Good”! I wonder if there are a lot of those going around…

  4. I like the idea of the first ad from the AZ Humane Society, but agree with you that it needs more dogs and a bit of humor.

    The ‘Herding Cats’ video always makes me laugh – especially the part with the cowboy using the lint roller – ha!

  5. I think the first one could have worked if there were more pets… it took too long to get to the message. And I agree – the choppy production on the second one threw me off a bit. The stylistic choice didn’t really work for me.

    However, that being said – that Canadian ad you linked to is amazing. I’m going to be sharing that one!

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