Subaru Wags Their Tail All The Way To The Bank

I have to give the marketers at Subaru some serious props. Every year automakers spend millions of dollars advertising their newest offerings during the Super Bowl, but Subaru has never been one of them. For the last couple of years they have saved their money by steering clear of the Super Bowl and purchasing a couple of ad slots for the arguably less-popular Puppy Bowl instead.

For some odd reason, Subaru owners are two times more likely than the average car owner to have a pet, and that’s something the marketers at Subaru have strategically cashed in on. They developed the “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.” campaign which has found—and continues to find—a great deal of success. In fact, U.S. News and World Report voted the Dog Tested ads as the best automotive spots of Super Bowl XLIV, even though they ran on a completely different channel.

Two weeks ago, the automaker released the newest batch of ads (which will debut on Animal Planet during Puppy Bowl X on Sunday afternoon) and they are already building quite the reputation. Each of the five ads has roughly a quarter of a million views on YouTube, and the counts are steadily growing. Their success can be attributed to the fact that there aren’t any other Super Bowl commercials out there to stand in their way.

Companies are weary about releasing their ads ahead of their debut on Super Bowl Sunday because they tend to lose the charm, but since Subaru doesn’t advertise during the big game, there is no charm to be lost. They save a ton of money and still manage to receive an equal amount of attention. It really is a genius strategy.

If you haven’t had the chance to check out the “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.” ads yet you can watch all five of them below. After you watch them, be sure to join the debate in the comment section.