Business

Hunks and Pups Campaign Will Give You Paws

Singer-songwriter John Allen and his canine friend.

Image: Leo Howard Lubow

Is there a heterosexual woman alive who can resist a big, muscle-bound man cuddling an adorable, furry creature? Surely not.

The goal of an ad campaign called Show Your Soft Side isn’t to hook up the professional athletes, cops and other manly stars with members of the opposite sex, though. It’s to educate, fundraise and find homes for shelter animals.

And it’s made such an impression so far in the Baltimore area that it’s expanding to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., starting next month. New hunky guys are signing up steadily to be part of billboards and posters created by non-profit Outlaw Advertising and photographer Leo Howard Lubow.

The list of handsome animal lovers so far has included mixed-martial arts fighter John Rallo, hockey player and coach Riley Cote, race car driver Josef Newgarden and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, along with rappers, chefs, stand-up comedians and radio DJs. Coming soon: Washington Nationals players Nate McLouth and Ian Desmond. The men are photographed with their own pets or shelter pups and kittens waiting for adoption.

Poster_John Rallo — Celebrity Bodyguard and MMA Fighter John Rallo and friend.

Sande Riesett, head of Outlaw Advertising, thought that using glam shots may be more effective in selling shelter animals than often-shown images of abuse and mistreatment.

“We felt like we could potentially reach people who may not respond to those kinds of horrific stories and pictures,” Riesett said. “And we’ve tried to capture the relationship that these guys have with the animals, that sense of joy between them.”

The work, done pro bono and spread via Facebook and other digital platforms, launched a few years ago in response to a rash of brutality against animals in the Baltimore area. Often, the perpetrators were preteens and teenagers who misguidedly thought they were showing their toughness by preying on animals, Riesett said.

LHLUBOW-Jonny-Bones-Jones_DM37110-sm — UFC Champ Jonny Bones. and pal.

She decided that recruiting highly visible men like professional baseball and football players, wrestlers and cops would send a strong message, though the guys are dubbed “softies” for the campaign’s purposes.

“These are the kinds of guys that kids will listen to,” said Riesett, who chose the slogan, “Only a punk would hurt a cat or dog,” to drive home the point. The outdoor billboards, in Baltimore only so far, will expand in the northeast in the coming months.

Adoptions and donations to the local Baltimore shelter have increased since the ads launched in 2011, and an annual Pawject Runway event now raises cash when macho men “model” homeless animals on a catwalk (dogwalk?).