Shelters are overflowing with dogs that are no longer wanted by their owners. Reason for a well-known dog food manufacturer to devise a special campaign to encourage people to think more carefully about their dog choice: four dogs from Hilversum were selected to artificial intelligence transform into their human counterpart. “It’s to make people aware,” says Rianne Steenbeek of animal shelter Crailo where the four-legged friends are staying. “That dogs also have their own personality.”
Bulldog Bakkie (left) and his AI-generated image as a human (right) – NH News
A dog’s own character is something that receives too little attention when selecting a specimen, says animal shelter manager Rianne.
“That’s why the shelters are now very full. That’s because people often make an impulse purchase. And that’s often about appearance. Especially as a puppy, dogs always look cute. But people don’t realize that when a dog is an adult, for example a Malinois, that he must be put to work.”
AI ‘translates’ dog to human counterpart
Dog food manufacturer Pedigree takes the fate of all those mismatches to heart and devised the special campaign in which four dogs from Hilversum were transformed into humans by artificial intelligence.
“Based on keywords such as ‘cheerful’, ‘sporty’, ‘moving’ or ‘loyal’, keywords that characterize the selected dogs, we asked AI to transform the dogs into their human equivalent,” explains Carolien D’Ancona , marketing director of Pedigree.
“With the images of these non-existent people, we have created profiles on various dating platforms. If someone clicks on such a profile, they will be taken to a website where the campaign is explained in more detail.”
One of the four dogs, labrador Lizz, has already found a new home. The others are still looking for a nice date. Animal shelter manager Rianne gives a small pitch of the remaining candidates.
“Bulldog Bakkie is best described as a clown. Super energetic, super funny. When you see him in the morning, you’re immediately happy.” And also Stefford Sjakie is still in the market. “Sjakie is a serious man”, that’s how Rianne describes this four-legged friend. “He can be super enthusiastic, but certainly needs some time to get to know you in the beginning. He is looking for a boss with peace, patience and, above all, a lot of love.”