Subaru: Long, Lonely Road
Do you know what month it is? It’s Subaru Loves Pets Month! This October, Subaru is dedicated to help raise awareness and funds for animal shelters, as well as uniting pets with their forever homes. Who doesn’t love dogs? (I’m judging you if you don’t.) This campaign also faces us with a tough reality, disabled dogs need our help.
The attention is on what they affectionately call “Underdogs”, or dogs that aren’t easily adopted. They have a longer, more arduous road than others towards adoption. The video below symbolizes this plight in a profound way. Subaru honors these disabled dogs, who are deemed “unadoptable” by most with their own personalized profiles. This is touching and brilliantly done, as it helps people look past their disabilities and realize that they’re just as lovable as any other dog.
The Videos Tug On The Heart Strings Like A Leash
There are many more dog-related videos on their website, as well. They’re all extremely cute, creative, and give you the warm-fuzzies when you watch them. I love seeing dogs being celebrated, they do so much for us and bring us so much joy.
Another Year Of Fundraising And Adoptions
Subaru does it again, with 600 retailers participating in adoption events on October 22nd Make A Dog’s Day. For every adoption, Subaru pledges $100 to national and local animal shelters. On top of that, for every purchase of a pet accessory (pet harnesses, bowls, etc.), they will donate an additional $20. In total, Subaru has donated over $42 million to animal shelters. This is very commendable, as more people are now deciding to vote with their dollars and can feel like they’re doing good when supporting such a brand. It’s very powerful to align your company with charity work for this reason; the customer simultaneously fulfils their desire to give back, and purchase a quality vehicle.
“We advocate for adopting from pet organizations year-round, but October is particularly special as we devote the entire month to uniting pets across the country with the loving homes they deserve, our Subaru community is incredibly passionate about animal welfare, and together with our retailers, we’re proud to help make the world a better place for pets everywhere.” Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc
Dogs: The Perfect Branding Match For Subaru
It’s very clear the branding that they’re going for: family values and reliability. What better way to represent that than a dog? Our best friend and cuddly family member that will always be there for us. Subaru piggy-backs off of the reputation dogs have as a reliable family friend. This campaign does well to elicit emotions, as many people, especially those within Subaru’s psychographics & demographics deeply love dogs and want to help them.
A lot of us also naturally support the “Underdog”, however, this isn’t reflected in the way we treat our disabled and elderly shelter dogs. Subaru did an incredible job reminding us that we should be rooting for the underdogs in our shelters, too.
