What happens when a moustachioed hipster decides on a whim to adopt a puppy? A Purina dog food ad of course!
This spot produced by Buzzfeed does a very solid job as coming off as a short video, opposed to being an actual advertisement. Make no mistake - Purina logos are everywhere and there are links to products in the video’s description. This is definitely an advert, albeit a pleasant one. For sponsored content, I don’t actually mind watching this.
In the video we see a guy adopt a puppy, and basically integrate it into his life. Whether that’s describing his favourite Belle and Sebastian record (OK, Nirvana) to it, showing it the great outdoors, picking up it’s poop or forgiving it for knocking over his clearly very important presentation - we’re shown how the duo become a family.
The puppy is admittedly adorable. There’s some d’aw moments, like when it’s trying to dig a whole through the guys bed or scampering across the floor to get more food. It’s hard to make a spot with an adorable puppy that people are going to hate.
The guy in the video is supposed to be representative of the laid back, hipster culture that is prevalent in today’s culture and used heavily in advertising. Every detail of him - his flannel shirt, his record collection, his moustache, his ukulele and his general lackadaisical presence - they all are checks for that comment portrayal.
Buzzfeed being involved in sponsored content should surprise nobody. They’ve regularly put out sponsored content, although I don’t remember the last time it translated this well into being enjoyable. My feelings are summed up by this YouTube commenter.
