It is his last piece of Rolo candy, and just for kicks, the boy decides to tease a baby elephant at the zoo. Just as Dumbo’s little trunk stretches over the hedge to grab the goody, the boy yanks his hand back and stuffs the last Rolo in his mouth, all the while making faces at the baby pachyderm.
Cut to a few years down the line, and the boy, now a young man, watches merrily as a circus parade full of animals and performers passes through town. Just then, he feels a little tap on his shoulder and before he can react, a trunk comes out of nowhere and slaps him right across the face. The film, for chocolate-covered, caramel candies from Nestle SA, ends with the line: “Think twice what you do with your last Rolo!”
Difficulties in shooting ad films with animals have led film-makers to use animation, as in this commercial for the soft drink Sprite
Now imagine this ad, which won a Grand Prix at the 43rd annual International Advertising Festival in Cannes, minus little Dumbo. Or, a campaign for mobile service provider
Hutchison Essar Ltd, now rechristened
Vodafone Essar Ltd, without the pug. Imagine the Marlboro man without his horse, or the funny commercials for one of the largest insurance companies in America, the Government Employees Insurance Co., minus the by-now-famous Gecko (voted America’s favourite advertising icon in 1995).
Rather dull, isn’t it?
But with animal rights groups, the government-appointed Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), and the advertising industry sparring over procedures related to filming with live animals, a number of ad film production houses are seriously considering alternatives. These range from shooting the entire ad film abroad, using pre-shot footage from stock libraries, coughing up big bucks for specialized animation and even editing animals right out of the script.
While the procedures involved in filming with live animals are simple, the application process is often riddled with delays and uncertainty. This, despite a 2005 judgement of the Bombay high court directing AWBI to process applications within two weeks of applying. “It is a Herculean task. You submit what you think are the required documents to the board, seeking their permission to shoot with a live animal. And after that, it’s just about waiting,” says Sneha Iype Varma, executive producer, Nirvana Films.
It took Nirvana more than six weeks to secure permission to broadcast the launch commercial for Vodafone featuring the pug. Under the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001, it is mandatory for all companies to pay Rs500 and secure a no-objection certificate from AWBI prior to using live animals in an advertisement.