Many companies use animals in their advertising to try to sell their products. At the bottom of this page are some examples. Can you figure out which ads portray animals in informative, accurate, or positive ways and which ones portray animals in inaccurate, misleading, or negative ways? Also, as you think about the advertisement, think about:

•     What is the advertiser's purpose?
•     Does the image have any direct relationship to the product? If it doesn't, why do you think the advertiser is using it?
•     Does the ad encourage any stereotypes of animals?

  Here are some commercials that use animals to advertise:

   Honey Nut Cherrios uses a bee
   Frosted Flakes uses Tony the Tiger
   Hostess uses a Vulture and a Raccoon
   Gateway Computer uses a cow
   Geico car insurance uses a gecko
   Cookie Crisp cookies uses a dog
   Chuckie Cheese uses a mouse (rat)
   Energizer battery uses a bunny
   Coca Cola soda company uses a polar bear
   Thomas Bagel company uses a parrot
    the Got Milk commercials uses a cow
    Fruit Loops cereal uses a Toucan
    Pepsi uses Penguins
    Mastercard uses a zebra
    Trix yogurt uses a rabbit
    Exxon gas uses a tiger
 

For awhile there was a site online where you could vote for the best animal commercial.
http://animal.discovery.com/convergence/commercials/poll/poll.html

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