The faces of the politicians we love — or love to hate — have plastered the streets in SA for months leading up to this year’s election. Every news site seems brimming with pics of red berets, blue t-shirts and yellow sports cars. By now we’re more acquainted with Zille’s favourite lipstick and Zuma’s wrinkles than we’re comfortable admitting.
The unexpected celebrities of this year’s elections, however, may be a different beast entirely. Thanks to some local creative genius, we’ve also been bombarded by some of the furriest faces on the block. Two separate initiatives have highlighted the plight of South African rescue animals amid political vying for media attention.
The first was born online, as a browser extension called “Vote for Pets”. It replaces any image of a South African politician with a picture of a dog or cat living at Barking Mad — an organisation helping homeless pets to find adoptive parents.
The initiative was inspired by the Stop Tony Meow campaign, which targets Aussie PM Tony Abbott by replacing any photos of him with that of a kitten.
The second initiative was launched by the SPCA themselves. They waited until just before election day to pounce, putting up posters that complimented existing party posters.
The posters — sponsored by SA ad agency Hardy Boys — also featured on the SPCA’s Facebook page, which urged people to “Vote SPCA” by donating.
Tweeters later called them out for copying an international political campaign.
The SPCA said in an interview that “Elections are generally a time when South Africans reflect on issues that are important to them”. “Our aim with this campaign is to remind voters that the welfare of all animals should be one of those issues,” said their spokesperson.
You can help Barking Mad by clicking through to their site at the bottom of the Vote for Pets page and the SPCA by donating.
