A Brazilian pet store has one of the most interesting marketing strategies. While logic says that the best way to get customers in the door is with cute and adorable fuzzy new friends, they have one of the most endearingly creepy statues of a dog in front of the store. Despite being hideous, it's become a beloved staple of the community, causing them to fight for it back when it was removed.
In my home town there's a pet shop who have this sculpture at the entrance. It's 20 years old and they paint every year with different 'dog breeds'. Last year the administration thought it was too ugly and asked to have it removed. The town fought back and the ugly dog is now back. I love it from funny
On Tuesday, someone posted the picture to the r/funny subreddit with the backstory for the statue. "It's 20 years old and they paint every year with different 'dog breeds'. Last year the administration thought it was too ugly and asked to have it removed. The town fought back and the ugly dog is now back," the user wrote in the post, which has since been upvoted over 33,000 times.
The user told Newsweek in a message that the pet shop Clínica Veterinária Linameg is in Manaus in the Amazonas state in Brazil. The Redditor said that its in the parking level for a supermarket, along with some hair salons and a car wash, which is why the statue in the picture looks like it was just left by a shopper who realized they'd made a grave mistake in buying the dog statue and abandoned it in the parking garage.
The Redditor said that it's been in the garage since 2012, and has become a community staple. "It's one of those things that we find ugly but its consistent and it's been there for ages. It's part of the place, also it's really fun to see the next painting job and how horrible it looks," they wrote, stating that their favorite was a black and silver paint job, with wide eyes.
They also linked Newsweek to a handful of other designs which are equally as confusing and ugly as the Dalmatian/cow hybrid design shown in the post. Other paint jobs showed the dog painted all pink with a soccer jersey on and one that makes it look like a rejected Pee Wee's Playhouse character.
The dog also wasn't a stunt-marketing campaign. It wasn't meant to be ugly, the Redditor wrote, but the sculpture paid off nonetheless. "They made it because the store wasn't performing well, and it actually worked. People come in because of the dog, even if it's just to chat about it," they wrote.
Unfortunately, the supermarket administration recently asked that the dog sculpture be removed. "They decided it was too ugly to be there anyway and requested to have it removed," the Redditor explained.
When the statue was taken away, local residents started a petition asking for the supermarket to bring it back. "People noticed the dog was gone and walked into the pet shop to know what happened, then the news hit twitter and a petition was created," the user wrote. "[T]he admin realised [sic] people liked the dog anyway and brought it back."
While the dog is definitely something that may shock you while walking to your car after buying groceries at night, it's absolutely something that has grown on people. "I love how ugly it is, but it's so fun at the same time," the Redditor wrote.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
