Pedigree's Super Bowl Ad Ponders Pet Ownership Without Dogs

Pedigree's commercial for the upcoming Super Bowl is odd assortment of absurd comedic situations. What would pet ownership be like without our pooches? We're treated to some serious silliness involving Max the Bison (actually played by a water buffalo), Bruno the ostrich and Rusty the rhino.

It has spot on comedic timing, mailmen in peril and frisbee with a buffalo. What's not to like?

Pedigree is using the Super Bowl Ad as part of their campaign to promote their Pedigree Adoption Drive, aimed at increasing dog adoption nationwide. Their website also includes a bunch of additional situational comedy episodes tied around the commercial.

Pretty funny idea, and with a great message. Each time you watch one of the videos on their site, they donate one dog's meal worth of dog food to animal shelters around the country.

My one-eyed pooch, Dexter, was adopted from a shelter five years ago now. In my humble opinion, shelter-mutts make the best pets. The fact that thousands of shelter dogs are euthanized every year is tragic, but probably unavoidable unless people get the message that great pet friends can be found at animal shelters. Having a Super Bowl ad that highlights this (without being preachy) is a great win for dogs.

Behind The Scenes Videos

Pedigree has now made the Super Bowl Ad "behind the scenes" videos available. I'm sure the pitch session for the ad-spend was partially justified by, "we can also make these extra videos while we're doing it that we can post on YouTube! It'll be great!"

Fortunately, they're hilarious.

Rusty the Rhino

"I got a rhino because a rhino doesn't make fun of you. A rhino doesn't call you names ... Just because he tries to trample me, doesn't mean he doesn't love me."

Max the Bison

"His droppings are like golden eggs of money that come out of his butt, right into my bank account." Nice. His owner has started BisonDung.net and is selling it as fertilizer. And yes, Max is actually a water buffalo.

Bruno the Ostrich

Mailman: "Sometimes I'll even taunt Bruno through the gate, but I've learned not to do it during mating season."

The Boar

Father: "My kids go to this movie, then all-of-a-sudden they gotta get a pig. So we drive 250 miles to a farm, and all-of-a-sudden they fall in love with a 500 pound pig."