Don’t be surprised if the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks come out on Super Bowl Sunday and go after each other likes and cats and dogs. And if you’re curious what a game like that would look like, The Lucy Pet Foundation has you covered.
Hoping to raise awareness of spaying and neutering cats and dogs to prevent over-population and inevitable euthanasia, The Lucy Pet Foundation is airing an imaginative ad during Sunday’s Kitten Bowl on the Hallmark Channel.
In a visually brilliant piece of filmmaking, canines and felines take to the football field, complete with helmets and pads and a deep throw to the end zone, while a stadium full of cats and dogs, many wearing the gear of their favorite teams, howl with delight.
But there is a message behind this football madness. As the dog wide receiver and kitty cornerback battle for the fateful pass at the goal line, the animals in the stands begin to disappear, and the voiceover warns of the terrible cost of animal overpopulation.
“Over 80,000 dogs and cats are euthanized every week,” the narrator says. “You can help stop this.”
Sam Nicholson, famous for the visual effects in series such as The Walking Dead and 24, donated his time –- and a significant portion of the cost –- to making the ad.
“I promised my best people because it was close to my heart,” Nicholson told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I believe in the cause.”
Read more dog news about the Super Bowl on Dogster:
- K9s to Sniff Out Trouble at Super Bowl XLIX
- NoDaddy! Controversial Super Bowl Ad Gets Pulled After Public Outrage
- The Budweiser Puppy Is Back for the Super Bowl
About the author: Jeff Goldberg is a freelance writer in Quincy, Mass. A former editor for MLB.com and sportswriter for the Hartford Courant who covered the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team (Huskies!) and the Boston Red Sox, Jeff has authored two books on the UConn women: Bird at the Buzzer (2011) and Unrivaled (2015). He lives with his wife, Susan, and their rescue pup, Rocky, an Italian Greyhuahua/Jack Russell mix from a foster home in Tennessee, hence the name Rocky (as in Rocky Top).
