Marketing and Bulldogs
Today is my dogger Ophelia’s birthday – she’s turning 2 years old today and has the tenacity and attitude of a human toddler, despite being an English bulldog. When you look around at different mascots in sports and symbols in marketing, you’ll actually see a lot of bulldogs. Not mine, necessarily because they don’t like the paparazzi, but in general, bulldogs have always been used symbolically.
Tenacity, Strength, and Grit
When we say that someone is a ‘bulldog’ we’re usually talking about someone who is tough, strong, and never lets go. If you’ve ever seen my bulldogs with something in their mouth that they’re not supposed to have, you’d totally understand this. You know that image of Hercules fighting a tiger? Yeah, the second you say, “What’s in your mouth?” they chomp down with approx. 210 PSI of bite force. Just for comparison, human bite force is around 120-140 PSI. No wonder you can’t pry their little jaws open to get that toy out.
So right there we have strength and tenacity. There’s a reason that back in WWII, newspapers and editorial cartoonists drew Winston Churchill alongside a bulldog, or actually AS a bulldog in some cases, showing courage and refusal to surrender.
Semper Fi
The mascot of the US Marine Corps has long been an English Bulldog. While some areas have their own individual mascot by another name, such as the San Diego Marine Recruit Depot (pictured), the main mascot is Chesty, currently Chesty the 16th to be specific. A few weeks ago Chesty the 17th was introduced to the world as a “recruit” moving into ‘mascot training.”
It’s not just the Marines, though. When you think about it, tons of colleges, including Yale, Butler, and University of Georgia are bulldogs, along with hundreds of high schools. It’s strength and loyalty, but they’re also… well… cute? They’re non-threatening to kids, which is why they’re great for mascot use.
Ok, but what about other marketing?
You’ll find bulldog symbolism all over the place, you might have just forgotten about it. Mug Root Beer (now owned by PepsiCo) is a bully named “dog” (not very inventive). Mack Trucks have always been a bulldog, even on the hood ornament. And if you do a google search on Bulldogs in Marketing, you’ll find TONS of different companies named Bulldog who specialize in being tough, loyal, and maybe a little bit silly.
Our Girls
We have two doggers currently, Princess Evie (Evelyn Lucretzia) and Lady Ophelia (Ophelia Artemis). Today’s Ophelia’s birthday, and Evie will be 4 in November. So they’re both at the velociraptor stage – they will tear up anything they can get their hands on, like toilet paper, clothing, toys, random bits of whatever. But then after they’ve wrecked havoc and made a mess, they roll over for belly rubs and snuggles. And loud snoring. They’re adorable. And I know if someone ever tried to break in, they would bark them to death and then sit on them and lick their feet til the cops came.
Because they are exactly what the marketing says: Loyal, Strong, Tenacious, Fiesty, with a “never let go” attitude.
So if you’re ever on a call with me and hear barking, and then… snoring… and… possibly other sounds coming from under my desk, just know that these two employees are ready to take on your marketing needs. After a snack and a nap, that is.