Tag: Super Bowl

Puppy Bowl or Super Bowl? What to Watch on Super Sunday

Are you as excited as I am about the big game on Sunday, Feb. 13? That’s right, Puppy Bowl is back for its 18th year. If you’re planning to watch that other game with the two-legged players instead (go Rams!) but don’t want to miss out on adorable dogs, look for heartwarming commercials featuring actual and robotic canines.

Here’s a Super Sunday TV viewing guide for us dog lovers.

Puppy Bowl XVIII

More than 100 ridiculously cute puppies from shelters in 33 states will be joining Team Ruff or Team Fluff in Puppy Bowl XVIII. It’s the biggest lineup in the history of this competition.

Among this year’s rather interesting competitors are Wes (Team Fluff), a Chihuahua/Golden Retriever mix (!), Tayce (Team Ruff), a Chihuahua/Siberian Husky mix (!!) and Rob Gonchowski (Team Fluff), a Dachshund/American Pit Bull Terrier mix (!!!).

In addition to their hosting duties, this year Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg will be coaching the furry young athletes. Snoop Dogg, by the way, is also scheduled to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show. He sure gets around! “I’m honored to be co-hosting the only sporting event on the planet guaranteed to raise the ‘woof,’ with the magnificent Martha Stewart!” he says. 

No matter which team ends up winning the Lombarky Trophy, all the players are winners, and most have already been adopted into forever homes. But there are plenty of just-as-cute puppies waiting for you at your local shelter! Visit PuppyBowl.com/adopt for information about the shelters and rescue organizations that provided pups for this year’s game.

Puppy Bowl XVIII airs Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time/11 a.m. Pacific Time on Animal Planet. It will also stream on discovery+.

Super Bowl Commercials Featuring Real and Unreal Dogs

Budweiser Brings Back the Puppy

You may remember back in 2015 when Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial featured not only the beautiful Clydesdale horses but also an adorable “lost” puppy. Unfortunately, that ad apparently sold more Kleenex than Bud, so the company announced in 2016 that it was taking a new creative direction and would no longer feature puppies in its commercials.

Seven years later, Budweiser has come to its senses and will once again air a commercial featuring an adorable puppy during this year’s Super Bowl. The spot, titled “A Clydesdale’s Journey,” is directed by Chloé Zhao, who won an Academy Award and many other honors last year for directing “Nomadland.”

In the ad, a Yellow Labrador puppy starts barking when a Clydesdale falls down and is injured after tripping on a barbed-wire fence. After the horse is nursed back to health by a stable hand and veterinary nurse (who also nurse Budweisers, naturally), the puppy and Clydesdale are joyfully reunited.

Grab a tissue or 10: Here’s the 60-second version of the commercial. A shortened 30-second version will air during the Super Bowl.

Kia Introduces a Cute Robot Dog

What’s more as adorable than a real, live dog? An unreal robot dog, maybe?

In the “Robo Dog” commercial for the new, all-electric Kia KV, a robot dog in an electronics store sadly gazes out the window at a man petting a real dog. But then he sees another man unplug his Kia KV from a charging station and gets his artificial hopes up.

As the Bonnie Tyler song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” plays — which seems kind of cruel since robots don’t actually have hearts — Robo Dog chases after the man of his dreams. Its battery begins to die, but never fear: a happy and, uh, electrifying ending is in store.

In the not-too-distant future, could robot dogs become as popular as the real thing? Interestingly, in a TODAY poll asking whether you’d consider owning a robotic pet, the results are equally divided between “Sure, why not?” and “No, there are too many animals in need of homes.” For now at least, my vote is a definite NO.

Instead of piquing interest in robot dogs, Kia is hoping its commercial encourages people to adopt real dogs. In partnership with the Petfinder Foundation, Kia has launched the Robo Dogmented Reality app. By scanning a QR code on a mobile device, users can see Robo Dog in their own homes to get an idea of what having a real pet would be like.

Here’s the commercial. Be sure to give your real dog a hug while you watch it.

Happy Super Sunday!

Photo: discovery plus/YouTube

Grateful Dog Dad Buys Super Bowl Ad Praising UW Veterinary School

You might want to take a break from watching Puppy Bowl XVI on Sunday and tune into the second quarter of that other big sports event, Super Bowl LIV.

One of the commercials will be for University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine. The $6 million, 30-second spot, appropriately titled “Lucky Dog,” isn’t being paid for by the school, but by WeatherTech, a manufacturing company whose founder and CEO is David MacNeil. The commercial features Scout, MacNeil’s 7-year-old Golden Retriever, who’s alive today thanks to the staff at the school’s teaching hospital, UW Veterinary Care.

Last summer, an aggressive tumor was growing on Scout’s heart. He had hemangiosarcoma, a cancer of blood vessel walls, and was given the grim prognosis of having only one month to live. Devastated because he had lost three previous dogs to cancer, MacNeil, with a referral from his veterinarian, took Scout to UW Veterinary Care in July 2019.

Specialists with the hospital’s emergency and critical care and oncology teams were able to quickly stabilize Scout. He was given chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy to zap his heart tumor. At the same time, he was given immunotherapy to boost his immune system so it could better attack cancerous cells.

While all those treatments may sound overwhelming, the main goal of the hospital staff along with MacNeil was maintaining Scout’s high quality of life during these procedures. “Scout is kind of the perfect patient in that he’s tolerated multiple modes of therapy very well,” said David Vail, professor of comparative oncology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, in a press release.

Amazingly, Scout’s heart tumor decreased in size by almost 80% after just one month of treatment. By September it had decreased another 10%. Today, it has pretty much disappeared.

Scout was one of 3,500 patients who visited UW Veterinary Care’s Oncology Service in 2019. Cancer is the No. 1 cause of death in older dogs, and UW Veterinary Care is conducting research and using innovative treatments to help save dogs’ (and cats’) lives. Since cancerous tumors in dogs often share the same characteristics as those in humans in regard to recurrence, spread and response to treatment, this research can help save people’s lives as well.

Scout, who’s the face of WeatherTech’s pet products, appeared in the company’s Super Bowl commercial last year. But this is the first time UW Veterinary Care has ever been in a commercial, and the faculty and staff are understandably excited about it.

“So much of what’s known globally today about how best to diagnose and treat devastating diseases such as cancer originated in veterinary medicine,” said Mark Markel, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, in the press release. “We’re thrilled to share with Super Bowl viewers how our profession benefits beloved animals like Scout and helps people, too.”

The commercial ends with a plea for viewers to donate to UW Veterinary Care so other dogs can be as lucky as Scout. You can make an online donation at weathertech.com/donate/petsmakeadifference or via the school’s website at vetmed.wisc.edu/scout/. Every dollar donated will go toward research to better diagnose, treat and prevent cancer, as well as toward the purchase of specialized equipment to help identify new cancer-fighting drugs and treatments.

In case you miss the “Lucky Dog” commercial or prefer to watch the Puppy Bowl instead of the Super Bowl (I hear ya), here it is.

Photo: uwmadison/YouTube

What to Watch on Super Bowl Weekend If You Love Dogs

If you’re like me, the big game on Feb. 4 isn’t Super Bowl LII, but Puppy Bowl XIV. The good news this year is that there’s another new bowl game with four-legged players to watch, plus a Very Special Episode of the beloved TV series “This Is Us” that may involve a dog.

“Puppy Bowl XIV” — Animal Planet at 3 p.m. EST Sunday.

The 14th edition of Puppy Bowl will feature 90 players — the most in the show’s history. It will be held in a brand-new venue: the bone-shaped Geico stadium. Once again, there’s no real audience, but wouldn’t it be cool if they sold tickets to fans and donated the proceeds to animal rescue groups? Are you listening, Animal Planet?

To recruit the adoptable players, Animal Planet worked with 48 animal shelters and rescue organizations in 25 U.S. states and territories. What’s especially heartwarming this year is that most of the puppies vying for the “Lombarky” trophy are from areas that were devastated by hurricanes last year. For the first time ever, there will also be a player from Villalobos Rescue Center, featured on Animal Planet’s “Pit Bulls and Parolees” series.

Some special-needs puppers will be playing this year, including Ryder, a sight-impaired Husky; Chance, a deaf Dalmatian; Moonshine; a sight-impaired and deaf Border Collie; and Luna, a Pomeranian mix with a cleft palate.

As for other adorable animals, look for Shirley the rescue sloth, who’ll be making her debut as the assistant to returning “rufferee” Dan Schachner.

Check out the Animal Planet website for the complete Team Ruff and Team Fluff lineup.

“Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl” — Animal Planet at 8 p.m. EST Saturday.

Sure, all those puppies are ridiculously adorable, but a not-so-cute fact is that older homeless dogs have a much rougher time getting adopted. With this in mind, Animal Planet is debuting “Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl” this year, which will feature 50 adult dogs from 15 shelters in 11 states. Their ages range from 2 to 15 years old.

The players will be “going nose to nose for touchdowns, furry fumbles and ultimately the win,” according to Animal Planet. “After the game of tail tugs and ear pulls is over, they all end up winners as they find their forever homes.”

Like “Puppy Bowl,” there will be two teams: Team Wags and Team Tails. The one-hour special will also feature “Dogs Life” profiles of some of the players, as well as NFL player Eric Decker and Jessie James Decker, who run Deckers Dogs, a nonprofit that trains rescue dogs to be to be service dogs for disabled vets; NFL player and animal advocate Logan Ryan; Tia Torres from “Pit Bulls and Parolees”; and Steve Greig, aka @Wolfgang2242 on Instagram, who rescues and cares for senior dogs in need.

The good news is that most of the 50 players have already been adopted, according to USA Today. But hopefully they’ll inspire viewers to look for other older dogs that are still in need of forever homes.

“This Is Us” — NBC after the Super Bowl.

Spoiler alert: If you’ve never watched “This Is Us” but plan to one day, you might want to read no further.

For the rest of us, we know that this episode will finally reveal how Pearson family patriarch Jack died in a house fire. In the last episode that aired, we found out it was an old Crock-Pot that sparked the blaze, which was quickly spreading from the kitchen to the upstairs bedrooms as the episode ended.

Rebecca, Kate and Randall Pearson all survived the fire. (Kevin was away, spending the night at his girlfriend’s house.) So why did Jack die?

Here’s my guess: The family dog was sleeping downstairs. Maybe after everyone was safely out of the house, Kate begged her dad to go back inside and save him. And maybe that’s why, many years later, Kate didn’t want to adopt another dog, because it would stir up all those terrible memories. (Aren’t you glad she changed her mind? That little dog truly is as cute, as Kate said, as cute as Jason Tremblay.)

If that’s the case, Jack truly died a hero. No matter what happens, be sure to have a tissue box or two handy when you watch this episode. And thanks for nothing, NBC, for ending Super Bowl Sunday with a very sad bawlfest.

Photo: Puppy Bowl/Facebook

These 3 Super Bowl 50 Commercials Are Doggone Good

Like me, I’m sure a lot viewers watch the Super Bowl for the commercials more than for the game itself. Last year, the best and worst of those commercials all happened to feature dogs. Could this be repeated with Super Bowl 50?

Well, unfortunately, some beloved dogs from previous years will not be appearing in Super Bowl 50 commercials.

Because they didn’t increase beer sales, Budweiser commercials will no longer feature cute puppies. And Subaru is not a sponsor this year, so we won’t be seeing any adorably hilarious dogs driving cars — but the good news is that Subaru will instead be airing brand-new commercials during my favorite game this Sunday, Puppy Bowl XII.

Although the Budweiser puppy and Subaru pooches will not be with us during Super Bowl 50, the following three ads airing during the game feature dogs, and will likely show up at the top of most “Best Super Bowl 50 Commercials” lists. Here’s a sneak peek.

Heinz Ketchup’s ‘Weiner Stampede’

The most talked-about commercial for Super Bowl 50 is this spot that features dozens of Dachshunds in hot dog costumes racing in slo-mo across a field to people (“The Ketchups”) dressed as Heinz products, as Harry Nilsson’s mournful “Without You” plays.

As the weiner dogs leap into the arms of the humans, covering them with kisses, a voice-over says, “It’s hard to resist great taste.”

“It’s a really simple idea that pairs two things that people really love to see,” Michelle St. Jacques, vice president of marketing for condiments and sauces at Kraft Heinz, told TODAY. “One, which is a stampede of wiener dogs, and two, the Heinz brand, which consumers feel a lot of love for.”

While it’s a little disturbing to present dogs as food products, this commercial will likely be considered one of the best of the best.

Doritos’ ‘Doritos Dogs’

FEB. 8, 2016 UPDATE: Congratulations to Jacob Chase — “Doritos Dogs” was the $1 million prize winner in Doritos’ final “Crash the Super Bowl” commercial contest.

This contender in the final Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” commercial contest stars three rescue dogs, Miz, Bolt and Logan. After a few failed attempts to enter a store and snatch some Doritos, the trio comes up with a disguise that somehow fools the store manager.

Jacob Chase, the writer and director of “Doritos Dogs,” had to call several stores in the Los Angeles area before he found one — Gerrards Market in Redlands — willing to participate in filming the commercial.

The specialty supermarket’s owner, Tom Reingrover, “was so very generous and accommodating,” Chase told The Press Enterprise. “He loves dogs and was already aware of the Crash the Super Bowl commercial contest. It was such a lovely place to film.”

Honda’s ‘A New Truck to Love’

You might get “Babe” flashbacks watching this Honda commercial that stars a flock of sheep.

But instead of chanting “Baa-ram-ewe,” these sheep begin singing Queen’s “Somebody to Love” after a rancher and his dog drop them off in a field and then drive off in the Honda Ridgeline pickup truck that brought them there — with the song playing on the audio system.

So, why are the sheep singing? Because their mode of transportation is the “only truck available with a truck bed audio system,” the dog explains at the end of the spot. “A new truck to love.”

Photo via YouTube

Buh-Bye, Cute Puppy in Budweiser’s Super Bowl Ad Who Didn’t Sell Beer

By now you’ve probably forgotten about most of the commercials that aired during last February’s Super Bowl game.

…Except for that “Lost Puppy” one with the yellow Lab. That’s right, this one.

The problem is, that commercial — which was voted the No. 1 viewer favorite in just about every poll — probably ended up selling more Kleenex tissue than Budweiser beer.

That’s why, sadly, there won’t be a puppy in the Budweiser commercial that airs during Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016.

“Budweiser aired two very different spots in last February’s Super Bowl, and we learned that content focused on the quality of our beer was most effective in generating sales,” said Jorn Socquet, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch, in a statement sent to Adweek.

“Starting with our ‘Brewed the Hard Way’ ad in last year’s game and throughout 2015, our marketing has featured a bold, confident voice that speaks directly to Budweiser drinkers, and sales trends have improved as a result. We’ll continue this tone in Super Bowl 50, and we’re excited to explore new creative territory.”

Borrrr-ing! And what’s especially unfair is that Budweiser has been featuring Clydesdale horses in its Super Bowl commercials for decades — yet the company gave viewers only two measly opportunities, in 2014 and 2015, to establish a connection between cute puppies and buying beer.

I’m fairly certain that if the puppy could stick around for Super Bowls 50 through 60, viewers would successfully make that association and Budweiser beer sales would skyrocket.

 

So, have those cute Clydesdales been given the ad ax as well?

Nope. They will “most certainly make an appearance,” Socquet assured Adweek. Bless those beer-sales-generating beasts.

I know I’m not alone in wanting the puppy back. In an Adweek poll last month asking if people wanted the puppy to appear in Budweiser’s Super Bowl 50 commercial, a whopping 75 percent answered, heck, yeah.

Many advertising industry experts also disagree with Budweiser’s decision to dump the cute doggie.

“The commercials that usually win the popularity contests are the ones that have recurring characters and an ongoing story,” Scott Davis, chief growth officer at brand consultancy Prophet, whatever that means, told Adweek.

But apparently Anheuser-Busch doesn’t care about what industry experts or we consumers think. For that reason, on Feb. 7, I’ll watch the game (“Puppy Bowl XII,” that is) while enjoying a nice, frosty non-Budweiser beverage.

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