Commercial targeted at dogs

The Italian Dog - an ad for Bakers Complete's Meaty Meals that parodies The Italian Job, is a TV advertisement created specially for dogs, featuring high-pitched sounds that cannot be heard by humans, and it aired for the first time in Britain this Monday.

The commercial, a minute-long send-up of The Italian Job, also features whistles and barks intended to catch the attention of even the most indolent of canines. Bakers, the dog food manufacturer which commissioned the advert, hope the sounds will provoke a reaction from dogs in living rooms across the country, fooling their owners into thinking they are interested in the products on the screen.

Carolyn Menteith, of the Kennel Club, said most dogs were most likely to react to the unfamiliar sound by pricking up their ears or tilting their head to pay attention, while some might wander up to the television set. A small number of particularly noise-sensitive dogs may be spooked by the sound and bark or hide under the sofa, but the distress would be no worse than hearing other unfamiliar sounds, she explained.

The Telegraph | via