ASPCA Commercial Parodies

About

ASPCA Commercial Parodies refers to videos parodying advertisements for the animal rights charity organization ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Because the ads feature images of abused animals they have a reputation for making those who see them extremely emotional. The parodies often spoof an ad featuring singer Sarah McLachlan whose melancholy song “Angel” plays in the background.

Origin

Sarah McLachlan’s ASPCA ad was first uploaded to YouTube on October 3rd, 2006, by user ragefc^[1]. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 1.5 million views.

Spread

On February 14th, 2011, YouTube user Ibish Comedy^[3] uploaded a video titled “Depressing ASPCA Commercial,” which features a PSA for those who are too sad because of McLachlan’s ad. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 55,000 views. On March 12th, 2012, Funny or Die^[2] posted a video titled “Charlize’s ASPCA Spokesperson Audition Tape,” which featured actress Charlize Theron “auditioning” to replace McLachlan by making a less somber ad. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 320,000 views.

Mclachlan herself parodied the ASPCA ads in a 2014 Superbowl commercial for AUDI which featured McLachlan showing support for the fictional “Doberhuahua” while playing the guitar. The video was first uploaded to YouTube by user Creative News^[4]. The commercial was covered by several websites including The Huffington Post^[5] and PopCrush.^[6] As of May 2014, the video has gained over 1,000 views. On April 24, 2014, YouTuber Phillip Henry^[7] uploaded a video titled “gAySPCA: An ASPCA Parody,” which featured the song from the original ad over a call to help insecure gay men dependant on likes on their selfies. As of May 2014, the video has gained over 89,000 views.