Steal These Ideas!: Marketing Secrets That Will Make You a Star, 2nd Edition

Animals

Using animals has always been a popular way to get consumer attention and affection focused on a particular brand. It's no surprise to anyone that pet food companies use pets as their “spokespeople.” Morris the Cat is among the better remembered. But the real question is: what brand was Morris representing? I can't remember. Therein lies the rub.

There is no question that cute puppies or cats or birds or horses that speak English get instant attention and often are remembered fondly for generations. A few years back in a Yahoo consumer poll of popular advertising icons in which 600,000 folks responded nationwide, the number two choice was the AFLAC duck.

Here are the top five most popular icons from that survey:

1. M&M characters.
2. AFLAC ...