Apparently the folks at IAMS know nothing about dogs.
Nothing.
Here we have an English Bulldog being paraded as a paragon of health, but the dog has such trouble breathing that it's mouth is always open, and it's tongue is always hanging out.
The dog is seen to "lust" after a Chinese Crested, another mutant dog with serious and obvious health disorders, such as lack of hair and incomplete dentition.
Of all the breeds in all the world these are the two this company selected to represent health?
The core problem here is that IAMS is owned by Proctor and Gamble.
No doubt the corporate people from P&G swish in and out, moving from one product to another.
And why not? Dog food is not all that different from toothpaste -- you pick one of four or five standard formulas, wrap it in a box, slap a price on it, and hawk it through an advertising campaign designed to convince people that your version is marginally better than a competitor.
At some point, IAMS brand managers simply started to phone it in.
The dog food is now made in a contract factory which few people in power ever visit, the packaging is designed by a contract designer, and the ads are produced by a contract ad firm.
Today it appears no one, anywhere in the IAMS chain, knows or cares about the product or what it's being used for.
Dogs? IAMS is not really in the dog business, is it? They're not in the food business either. At best they are in the "brand" business, which means they are in the business of taking nearly identical products and trying to convince the general public that their version is slightly better than another version one shelf up or down.
So let me help: IAMS has produced a crap commercial about canine health featuring mutant dogs with serious health problems as paragons of good breeding.
Since advertising is their core business and they screwed this up, what does that say about their dog food?
Is the take away message for this product supposed to be "the product makes those who consume it sick, but the packaging is amusing and that's all that really matters"?
Something to think about. . .
- Related Posts:
** Terrierman's Top Ten Tips for Dog Selection
** Does the Breed Standard Require a Rape Rack?
** Bulldogs: How Did We Come to Select for Defect?
** We Want Our Mutant Dogs, Never Mind Their Pain
** Breeding Dogs for Intentional Defect
** The Kennel Club Freak Show
** Complete English Bulldog Skeleton in a Bag
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7 comments:
Their business is to sell and resell "the bridge".
They seek a new sucker every 60 seconds and yes, it is all in the packaging.
In an interview for a job as a tech, a vet once drummed into me just how clean and well-run the Iams factories were when she visited. Apparently, when she was there, a batch of ground corn was not "quality" enough for the dog food, so they were going to send it to another P&G factory to make corn syrup out of it. Which, of course, is why she feeds and recommends Iams.
Sorry to Dr Vet, but I'm with you on this, Patrick.
When a company uses the most exaggerated examples of breeding to exemplify tippy-top health (I'm sure you've seen the cat version with the Sphinx in print ads?), I cannot condone that.
It's along similar lines of not being a patron of certain places due to policies with which I disagree...I cannot, within reason, support bad moves that contradict what I believe. Case in point: A lot of restaurants that serve alcohol will undoubtedly lose some good customers if the "Guns-in-Bars ONOES GUN BILL EVRBODY GNA DIE" bill passes in Ohio and enough places opt out like they threaten to do.
And no, I'm not going to work for that vet. Other clinics are in need, and there are better opportunities out there.
I am not sure IAMS actully has factories of their own. I know for a FACT that they had a contract, until 2013 with Menu foods of "poisoned dog food" fame. Google and you will see I am right.
P
Bulldogs should not eat iams ,they need speciall bulldog foood ;-)
"Bulldog 24™’s wave shape kibble, engineered specifically for this breed’s unique jaw, makes it easier to grasp"
http://products.royalcanin.us/products/dog-food/bulldog-24.aspx?Animal=Dog
Excellent Bjarne! Worthty of its own post and going to get one too. Much appreciation!
Patrick
Very interesting, although most things I'm also reading say that P&G's products weren't contaminated even though they too were involved in the recall.
I have not ever toured a dog food factory, so I don't claim to know what is right and what isn't concerning what I was told in the interview. She was more upset by the fact that I had worked at a pet store that carries a lot of the "holistic" type foods. She was even more concerned about the idea that I might have "bought into" those ideas too far to bring myself to recommending P&G or Hill's products in her practice.
Admittedly, she was both wrong and right at the same time, but to what extent is not important here and now.
I want to pull my hair out every time I see this commercial... I cringe when the dog says "My vet thinks my insides are a work of art!" or something to that effect. Nope...
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