Over forty years ago, “sex sold,” which is why leggy beauties and manly hunks were always part of advertising strategies to sell everything from cars to soap. We’re not sure when dogs replaced sex, but maybe it was around the time that an American Pet Products Association report revealed that we had spent a record $53 billion on our pets in 2012, a three-fold increase since 1994.

Any ad on TV is more interesting or entertaining with a dog in it, at least we think so. Check out this ad from Bissell that came out two years ago:

As it happens, Bissell wasn’t just capitalizing on the popularity of dogs in commercials.  The company has long had pet initiatives that include everything from designing products specifically for pet clean-up, to having a “Take Your Dog to Work Day” policy for 365 days of the year. The company proudly touts that more Bissell associates have a pet than the national average: About 72% of them have a cat or dog compared with 65% of households nationally (and among employees, dogs are a clear favorite since 55% of them own one).  We don’t know if the many pet-products that Bissell manufactures are any good or not, but it’s nice to know that the company’s Pet Foundation helps financially assist not PETA or HSUS, but local animal shelters across the country.  When donating to a pet charity, NPDD is always encouraging readers to donate locally since HSUS gives 1% or less of the millions it takes in annually to shelters in the US.