Nutro Dog Message Not in Good Taste

Advertiser: Nutro Products

Agency: Taylor & Taylor, Los Angeles

Challenge: Find a tactful way to pitch what Nutro Products claims is the benefit of its dog food: easy-to-clean-up dog poops.

The Ad: A print ad shows a silhouette of a golfer with a club raised above his shoulder, ready to swing. The copy reads: “Once upon a time there was a dog food that produced such hard, firm stools that cleanup was reduced to a relatively simple task.” The ad goes on to explain that because dogs eat less Nutro, there is less to clean up. “You feed less and clean up less.”

Comment: Besides being tactless, this ad suggests that dog owners care more about what comes out of the dog than what goes in. $

Ads are rated from $ to $$$$, based on tastefulness and probable effectiveness, with $$$$ being the highest.