Dancing Dodo

Why is animal advertising so popular? Because it’s amusing to see them act like humans? Or simply because they’re cute?

I’m still undecided on the subject for my dissertation, but advertising is one of the options I’m considering. So, I was interested to see that yet another advert featuring an animal has been created. Previously, we’ve seen PG tips’ family of chimpanzees and the ‘T-birds,’ the Carling crab, Frank’s Pablo the Drug Mule Dog, Compare the Meerkat and the Cadbury gorilla, to name just a few. The latest addition is the dancing dodo.

When I first saw this advert, I was quite stunned. I wasn’t sure whether to be appalled or to laugh. A part of me is ashamed to say that it was the latter. The concept is quite simple: play on the products name, 5 Alive, and resurrect a dodo.

Yet, because the advert was so ridiculous, I couldn’t help but laugh. It begins with calming views of a tropical island and waves lapping on a beach, so it was completely unexpected to see a chubby dodo come bursting out of the sand after being brought back to life by spilt 5 Alive. The dodo sings ‘I’m alive’ as well as dancing around the beach, performing not only the moon walk but also playing air guitar.

The advert was attention grabbing, I was curious to know from the start what it could be for. Then, once the dodo jumped out of the sand, I couldn’t stop watching and wondered what on earth could they think of next.

I think I laughed because I couldn’t quite believe what I was watching or how ridiculous it was. Yet, didn’t the advertisers win? They grabbed my attention and made me remember their product.