VidAngel uses foul-mouthed ‘dirty dog’ in new ad campaign promoting entertainment filtering features
Video filtering company VidAngel has launched a clever new ad campaign featuring a dirty-talking dog to promote its features that remove offensive language and other adult content from TV shows and movies.
To reach Christians and non-Christians alike and increase subscribers, VidAngel decided the best way to get viewers' attention was to feature American families' favorite pet, a dog, for its “Dogs are dirty” campaign.
“Dogs are universally loved and humor has a universal appeal,” VidAngel CEO Bill Aho said of the new ad. “So getting a dog's observations on his humans that use VidAngel is simultaneously warm and funny, which people will enjoy.”
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“Dogs are universally loved and humor has a universal appeal,” VidAngel CEO Bill Aho said of the new ad. “So getting a dog's observations on his humans that use VidAngel is simultaneously warm and funny, which people will enjoy.”
Launched in 2013, VidAngel is an entertainment platform created to help parents filter out language, nudity, violence and other content from movies and TV series.
Aho, the former CEO of ClearPlay, played a vital role in getting the Family Movie Act passed in Congress in 2005 to help consumers control the types of entertainment content that's being watched in their homes.
“Most viewers will see the Dirty Dog campaign on the internet, where there is so much content that you better be entertaining if you expect to break through,” he continued. “That's why we went to the Harmon Brothers. They have a long record of success creating fun, positive and entertaining ads. That, and the Harmon Brothers did the initial advertising for VidAngel almost 10 years ago. So in a way, it was like coming home.”
Shane Rickard, chief operating officer, of Harmon Brothers, said they knew they'd need to create an ad that “would resonate both with VidAngel’s current customers and with those who’ve never heard of the service before.”
“We’ve achieved that with a foul-mouthed and gruff ‘Dirty Dog,’ a hilariously lovable character whose pitch is a memorable way to understand what VidAngel is about and why it matters,” he told CP.
Aho, a longtime marketing executive, said connecting with its customers is its primary goal and lauded the reunion with Harmon Brothers which created the company's original branding. “The foundation of our relationship with our customers” is what “makes VidAngel something truly meaningful for our team,” he added.
“There are two things I know about Hollywood: No. 1, they make some great shows. Shows we really want to watch. And No. 2, the mature content, whether it's profanity, explicit sex or graphic violence, isn't going away. So that puts many people in a difficult position,” Aho continued.
"People are left with two options: Do families abstain from content inconsistent with their values, or do they go ahead and watch movies or TV series that interest them while they endure the content?" He asked.
“VidAngel filtering helps solve that problem. Many shows that some people would not have found acceptable now become something that can be enjoyed, even with the kids. If you hear enough of that language in the media, especially what you allow in your home, it's going to have an effect on how you think and how you talk.”
Aho added, “There's plenty of research that says it's the same with violence, particularly for children. It impacts them, and sex and nudity, of course, it's going to have an impact.”
He lamented that Hollywood is not bothered by those facts, however.
“VidAngel customers have a different perspective,” Aho stressed. “They are acutely concerned about the impact of media on our spiritual selves and so we give them a tool, an option, that can make their media better for them.”
The innovative technology of VidAngel allows customers to filter content from movies and TV shows streaming on platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and AppleTV+. VidAngel has over 15,000 titles on its platform.
Speaking about the Family Movie Act, Aho told CP that “while it's not popular to say anything positive about politics, I did learn that if you get people believing that filtering is good for families, well then, David has a chance [against Goliath]. And maybe a little divine intervention helps as well.”
The Family Movie Act “saved” the filtering industry, and now, almost 20 years later, it remains the legal foundation that has allowed VidAngel to thrive, Aho said.
“It's been fun coming back to the filtering industry after all these years," he added. "Buying the business from Angel Studios was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. Of course, VidAngel had its own battles with Hollywood. But since those legal wars came to an end our business has gone gangbusters.”
The independent company made national news in 2016 when Walt Disney Co., Lucasfilms, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. all filed a lawsuit against VidAngel, claiming the video streaming service was infringing on their copyrighted material.
The Hollywood studios originally sought about $120 million in damages because they claimed VidAngel had committed willful copyright infringement. In 2020, VidAngel reached a settlement with its plaintiffs and agreed to pay $9.9 million over a 14 years.
With Aho at the helm, VidAngel has “doubled its paid subscriber base in the first year.” After his purchase, the company continues to thrive with a strong backing from people in the faith community.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
