Graffiti Ads Target Inner-City Dog Owners

A new graffiti ad campaign recently unveiled by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals aims to raise awareness about the organization’s mobile spay-neuter clinics.

The urban street art reaches out to inner-city dog and puppy owners in New York City with a message about the benefits of spaying and neutering. The ads are meant to help foster positive attitudes toward pet sterilization, specifically among the target demographic, according to the ASPCA.

Three artists -- Darren Brass of Miami, Fla.; Mike G of Ottawa, Canada; and KaNo of New York City -- created murals for display on phone kiosks and wallscapes throughout the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. The ads also appear in local newspapers throughout New York City.

In one of the pieces featured in the 10-week campaign, the message reads, “What’s good for your dog is good for NYC.” In 2008, more than 24,000 cats and dogs were spayed and neutered in the ASPCA’s mobile clinics.

Ed Sayres, ASPCA president and CEO, said the message “packs a powerful punch in the fight against pet overpopulation.”