NEW YORK —Pet lovers won’t have to look away anymore when those heart-wrenching TV ads appear during the Westminster dog show — the ones with the pitiful little faces peering out from behind those rusted bars of a cage.
Happy dogs will rule the airwaves this year, thanks to a new sponsor for America’s most prestigious dog competition and a decision to air ads that shift the focus away from sad-eyed animals in need of adoption.
“The feedback we got from our primary audience was that they were seeing commercials that made them want to turn the channel,” Westminster spokesman and longtime TV host David Frei said this week.
Nestle Purina PetCare is the new sponsor for the 136th annual competition, which begins Monday at Madison Square Garden, replacing Pedigree after 24 years.
Gone will be the haunting music and woeful pictures of dogs with pleading eyes wasting away at the pound, hoping to be adopted. Instead, Purina’s main spots will feature dogs running on the beach, catching a Frisbee, frolicking in the snow and riding a surfboard.
More than 2,000 purebred champion dogs are entered, with the winner to be chosen Tuesday night.
The Associated Press
