Animal Magic

Following on from my blog Mark My Words, about stunts and stories being done before, the idea to pander to animals and treat them like humans (for example, the well publicised dog wedding that one of my consumer teams organised for Harrods’ “Anything is Possible” campaign) has been around for decades.

Way back in 1951, a publicity stunt was created for the opening of the station restaurant at the Gare de L’Est in Paris.  A canine section was created so that French travellers could bring their dogs for an afternoon or evening full of treats. 

Firstly, they would be fed the best beef steak sandwich the dogs had ever had, served by the very efficient restaurant staff, followed by a dessert of brushing and general pampering.

The restaurant was quickly booked up over six months in advance.  The excesses of crazy Californian pets meant nothing to the publicist who came up with the idea in the first place!