Top Dog: Pedigree Marketing
Margaret Walsh tracks down an attempt to link the appeal of the greyhound with the brand values of a famous American company.
In the late 1950s and 1960s the Greyhound Corporation, the largest provider of long-distance bus travel in North America, publicized its services by using a pedigree dog, believing that a campaign emphasizing breeding and class would identify bus travel as being a high-quality, attractive activity. This novel campaign became more of a Madison Avenue gimmick than a realistic approach to selling bus travel, yet Greyhound executives were perhaps ahead of their time in getting in touch with the emotional cares and desires of Americans.
The dog in question was a pedigree white and gold greyhound, born in Clay Center, Kansas, on January 28th, 1957. As a three-month puppy she made her television debut in a Greyhound commercial on the Sunday-night Steve Allen show, and soon ‘Steverino’ captivated a huge television audience.
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