PON Stories
Boris and Natasha's Commercial Adventure: The PONtiac Ad
Click here to view the Pontiac ad
Early in January we received a call from our groomer Penny, a jolly and wonderful Brit, after she was approached by an animal agent for films and commercials. The agent contacted her looking for an Old English Sheepdog for a commercial. Penny told her that she had three, but they were all clipped down. Then almost as an afterthought she said, "How about a PON?" The agent's reply was, "What the H-E-double hockey sticks is a PON?"
After much e-mailing of pictures to the animal agent and to the advertising agency producing the ad, they decided that whatever a PON was, it was pretty neat. The fact that the ad would be for a PONtiac (pun intended) was accidental icing on the cake.
Boris and Natasha, our male and female PONs, seemed unaffected by their impending fame and Hollywood lifestyles, but as their parents, we were very excited about their embarkation upon new careers. We made sure to seek out the advice of our daughter, also an actress, and did a little bit of bragging that our furrier children were finding success effortlessly.
On the day of the photo shoot, we arrived in Miami with the agent/trainer and groomer in tow. The photographers couldn't decide which dog would photograph best, so they used both dogs. They took pictures inside the new Pontiac Vibe, outside of the car with fans blowing the dogs' hair, and against a blue screen and black backgrounds. So long as we remained out of the PONs' sight, the dogs behaved beautifully and did everything that was requested of them. They must have felt really important with so many people making such a fuss over them. They are natural hams (typical PON personality) so it seemed that an acting career was a natural evolution for them.
After we assumed all filming was completed, the director said, "Now wet Natasha down!" At his command, the groomer soaked her to the bone with a hose! The film crew took pictures, shook hands with us and the dogs and said, "Thank you very much". They were wonderful! The production company could not tell us anything about the ad as it was a trade secret for a car that had not yet been released. We drove back to Pompano Beach with our two new stars one of them very wet and a day of fun behind us, wondering about the final product turnout.
Considering the small number of PONs in the U.S., they are very well represented in commercials; PON appearances have been made in commercials for Clorox, Mylanta, and Sentinel Flea products. The production company shed some light on the rationale behind the popularity of PONs in ads: a production staffer told me that in marketing surveys, people typically recall the advertised product in an advertisement 25% of the time, but if children or animals are added to the equation, product recognition increases up to 70%. He added, "There is something most people find very appealing about a shaggy dog - instant likeability".
The experience was a lot of fun and we would do it again. If you are interested in having your dog used in commercials or films, you should take many of the same steps human actors take in their pursuits of professional careers in entertainment:
2. If your dog doesn't have fun meeting strange people and being in new situations, pursuing an animal acting career won't work.
3. Don't be a stage parent! Like child actors, animals don't understand that this is a job. If your animal isn't cooperating, then he or she is probably tired. Forget about the fame and fortune and remember that you are your animal's keeper. Be sure that your animal is being treated well by everyone especially by you, the parent.
4. Register with a reputable animal agent/trainer. They will want photographs, vital statistics and contact information. No reputable agent will ask for fees or try to get you to order pictures from them. Just like human agents, if an animal agent asks for money, RUN don't walk the other way. An agent makes his money one way and one way only: by getting your animal work. He receives a percentage of what you and your animal are paid at each job he obtains for the animal talent. In short, he only gets paid if he finds an animal acting gig for your dog. The agent receives the fee and pays the (animal) actor.
5. Be very clear up front before any agreements are made as to what the dog(s) will be paid for the job. Be sure to get everything in writing! If you do not know what the total pay for the job is, you will never know if the agent is being fair with you (an unfortunate lesson we learned via experience).
6. Don't let your dog develop a star attitude. Your pet will be pampered enough on the set; don't spoil him or her at home (any more than usual). It is important to keep things as normal as possible when your dog is away from work to remind your pet that he or she is just another member of the family. Don't let the attention get to his or her head. (But you can do a little bit of bragging here and there, as long as they don't understand what you're saying.)
All in all, it was a great experience. Boris and Natasha loved being the center of attention, and we had a ball meeting a lot of very nice people. The major drawback to the experience was driving 50 miles to get home with a very, very wet dog running rampant around the car, buzzed from her first taste of fame. Financially, Boris and Natasha's first acting gig didn't pay for our gas, but above all, we're glad to have had the opportunity to provide great exposure for the breed.
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