Animals in TV Commercials: Why Do We Remember Them?

Published: August 25, 2026

Reading time: 10 min

 

Why Are Animals So Popular in Advertising?

Animals have been stealing the spotlight in TV commercials for decades. A playful puppy, a mischievous cat or an unexpected appearance from a wild animal can make us laugh, feel emotional or simply stop and pay attention.

In some cases, the animal becomes the part of the advert we remember most. We might forget the exact message, dialogue or product details, but still remember the dog running across the screen or the cat causing chaos in someone’s kitchen.

That raises an interesting question. Do animals genuinely make commercials more memorable, or are they simply an easy way to capture our attention?

Brands continue to use animals across a wide range of industries, not just pet food and animal products. From household brands and supermarkets to insurance companies, car manufacturers and charities, animals can help tell stories, create humour and build an emotional connection in just a few seconds.

But their impact is not always straightforward. The right animal can strengthen a creative idea and give a brand a distinctive personality. The wrong one can become a distraction, leaving viewers remembering the cute dog while completely forgetting who the advert was for.

In this first part of our Animals in Advertising series, we explore why animals can have such a powerful effect on audiences. We’ll look at dogs, cats, birds and other animals, what recent advertising data tells us about their continued use and whether animals are a lasting part of advertising or simply another creative trend.

Why Do Animals Have Such a Strong Impact on Audiences?

Animals Create an Immediate Emotional Response

Animals can change the feeling of an advert almost instantly. A dog running towards its owner, a curious cat or a bird suddenly taking flight can create an emotional reaction before the viewer has even understood the message.

This is one reason animals have remained popular in advertising. The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) describes animals as having the ability to capture attention, evoke emotion and influence feelings towards an advert or brand.

That emotional response can be particularly useful when a brand is trying to make something feel warm, funny, reassuring or uplifting. Rather than explaining an emotion through dialogue, an animal can sometimes communicate it through behaviour alone.

There is also academic evidence behind this idea. Research published in the Journal of Business Research found that the presence of a dog in advertising increased certain forms of information processing and improved attitudes towards the advert

Why Familiar Animals Feel More Relatable

Part of an animal’s appeal comes from familiarity. Most people already understand the basic behaviour of a dog, cat or horse, which means an advert does not need to spend time explaining what the animal represents.

A dog waiting by the door can suggest loyalty. A cat ignoring its owner can create humour. A horse running through an open landscape can suggest freedom or power.

These associations give advertisers a useful shortcut. The audience brings their own experiences and feelings towards animals into the story.

That does not mean every animal automatically works. The connection still needs to make sense within the creative idea. When it does, however, the animal can make a commercial feel more natural and easier to understand.

Humour, Surprise and Entertainment

Animals also bring something difficult to script perfectly: unpredictability.

A dog staring at the wrong person, a cat refusing to cooperate, or a bird appearing at exactly the wrong moment can create humour without needing a complicated joke.

That unpredictability can make an advert feel less predictable too. Viewers may not know exactly what the animal is going to do next, giving them another reason to keep watching.

This is particularly valuable in short-form advertising, where brands have very little time to earn attention. The animal does not necessarily need to be the star of the entire commercial. Sometimes one unexpected moment is enough to make the advert stand out.

Can Animals Make Brands More Memorable?

This is where the relationship between animals and advertising becomes more complicated.

An entertaining animal can certainly help people remember an advert. But remembering the animal is not the same as remembering the brand.

That distinction matters.

If viewers remember a funny dog but cannot remember what the dog was advertising, the creative idea has only done half its job. The strongest campaigns connect the animal to the brand’s message, personality or identity.

Research into animals in advertising supports the idea that their presence can influence attitudes towards an advert and brand. However, the animal works as part of the wider creative execution rather than as a guaranteed shortcut to effectiveness.

Dogs in TV Commercials: Why Are They So Popular?

Dogs are probably the most recognisable animal stars in advertising. They have appeared in everything from pet food and household products to insurance, cars and technology.

Their popularity is not particularly surprising. Dogs already have a strong place in people’s everyday lives, which gives advertisers plenty of emotional territory to work with.

Why Dogs Create an Instant Connection

Dogs are naturally expressive and easy for audiences to read. Their reactions can communicate excitement, confusion, affection or curiosity without saying a word.

They can also represent qualities that brands frequently want to communicate: loyalty, trust, companionship, energy and friendliness.

This gives a dog a surprisingly broad range. One commercial might use a dog to make an audience laugh, while another might use one to create a more emotional story.

The key factor isn’t simply that people like dogs. It is what the dog allows the brand to communicate.

Dogs, Humour and Emotional Storytelling

Dogs can work particularly well when an advert needs a mixture of humour and emotion.

Their behaviour can create a visual joke, while their relationship with people can provide a more heartfelt storyline. That flexibility gives creative teams plenty of options.

Some of the most memorable dog commercials therefore do more than show a cute animal. They give the dog a role within the story.

The dog might be the character that causes the problem, solves it, reacts to something unexpected or brings people together. Once the animal has a genuine role, it becomes part of the narrative rather than simply decoration.

Why Non-Pet Brands Use Dogs Too

You do not need to sell dog food to feature a dog in your commercial.

Household brands, financial companies, retailers, automotive brands and other businesses can use dogs to make their advertising feel more human and approachable.

Smol is a good example of this approach. The brand’s use of animals is not about selling a product for pets. Instead, the animals help create a distinctive, playful way of presenting an everyday household product.

That is an important lesson for other brands. The animal does not necessarily have to represent the product. It needs to support the story the brand wants to tell.

Cats, Birds and Other Animals in Advertising

Dogs may dominate many animal-led commercials, but they are far from the only option.

Different animals can create completely different associations, which means the choice can become part of the creative concept itself.

Cats and Personality

Cats often bring a different kind of energy to advertising.

Where dogs can naturally suggest loyalty and enthusiasm, cats can bring independence, curiosity and attitude. Their expressions and behaviour can also lend themselves particularly well to humour.

That makes cats useful when a brand wants its commercial to feel playful without being overly sentimental.

They can also be effective precisely because they do not always behave as expected. A cat refusing to cooperate can sometimes say more about its character than a perfectly scripted performance ever could.

Birds, Freedom and Movement

Birds offer something different again: movement.

Flight can represent freedom, escape, exploration or a change in perspective. Visually, birds can also add scale and movement to a commercial in a way that is difficult to achieve with a domestic animal.

This makes them particularly interesting for brands connected with travel, technology, automotive, outdoor experiences or ideas around freedom.

Horses, Wildlife and More Unusual Choices

The more unusual the animal, the more important the creative reasoning becomes.

Horses can suggest strength, elegance or heritage. Wild animals can communicate power, independence or the natural world. Farm animals can create humour or familiarity.

The ASA has highlighted the variety of animals appearing in advertising, from traditional pets to more unusual choices. Its recent guidance also emphasises that the creative treatment needs to consider the welfare and behaviour of the animals involved.

Ultimately, there is no universal “best” animal for advertising. The most effective choice is the one that makes sense for the story.

What Do the Last Five Years of Advertising Data Tell Us?

It is easy to assume that animals are appearing in advertising more frequently because we see so many memorable examples. But is there actually evidence of a growing trend?

There is no single public database that tracks every animal appearing in every television commercial, so it would be misleading to claim that animals have increased across all advertising.

One useful snapshot comes from Hive, which analysed national Super Bowl advertising from 2020 to 2025. Its data shows that dogs appeared more frequently than cats in every year analysed.

Source: Hive, Super Bowl LIX Ad Recap.

The figures make one thing particularly clear: dogs have consistently been more popular than cats in this particular advertising environment.

However, the numbers also show why it would be dangerous to describe animal advertising as a simple upward trend. Dog appearances increased from 12 in 2021 to 18 in 2024 before falling to four in 2025. Cats followed a much smaller pattern, appearing in two or three national commercials in most years before disappearing completely in 2025.

Hive also noted that other animals, including horses, sloths, whales and seals, appeared in 2025 commercials.

So perhaps the more interesting conclusion is not that more animals are being used, but that animals remain a flexible creative tool when they fit a particular campaign.

Is Using Animals in Advertising a Trend or Something More Timeless?

Looking at the history of advertising, animals are certainly not a new idea.

They have been used as mascots, characters, storytellers and emotional triggers for decades. What has changed is the way audiences encounter those campaigns.

A TV commercial can now live far beyond its original broadcast. A memorable animal moment can be shared on social media, clipped into shorter videos, discussed online or become part of a brand’s wider content strategy.

That gives animal-led advertising a longer life than the traditional 30-second commercial.

The ASA itself describes animals as having a long history in advertising and notes their ability to capture attention and evoke emotion.

So rather than calling animals a passing trend, it is more accurate to see them as an enduring creative device.

The challenge for brands is keeping the idea fresh.

A cute puppy is unlikely to be memorable simply because it is cute. The commercial still needs a strong concept, a clear message and a reason for that particular animal to be there.

So, Do Animals Really Make Adverts More Memorable?

There is a good argument that they can.

Animals can attract attention, create an emotional reaction, introduce humour and give an advert a recognisable character. Research has also found that animals, particularly dogs, can influence how audiences process advertising and respond to the advert itself.

But an animal is not a shortcut to a successful commercial.

The strongest examples use the animal for a reason. It might make the story funnier, communicate an emotion, represent a particular brand quality or create a moment that people want to remember.

And that brings us back to the biggest question: will people remember the animal, or will they remember the brand because of the animal?

That difference can determine whether an animal is simply entertaining or genuinely valuable to a campaign.

 

 

Ready to Put an Animal in Front of the Camera?

Animals can capture attention. But attention alone does not create an effective advert.

The creative idea has to come first, with the animal chosen because it adds something meaningful to the story. Whether that means a dog creating a moment of humour, a horse bringing scale to a campaign or something completely unexpected, the right choice can give a commercial a distinctive personality.

In Part Two of our Animals in Advertising series, we’ll look at what happens behind the scenes, from choosing the right animal and developing the creative concept to deciding whether a real animal, CGI or animation is the best approach.

Read Part Two Next Week: How to Use Animals Successfully in TV Commercials