Take Rastus the cat – he was the helmet-wearing, motorcycle riding feline who was tragically killed alongside his owner Max Corkill 20 years ago. Rastus had become iconic throughout New Zealand thanks to his on-road antics and the Bell Tea ads.
Watch Rastus on Newsnight here:
Another cat that holds a firm place in many Kiwi hearts might not have a name, but is instantly recognisable to a generation of kids who grew up in the days before 24-hour television. The Goodnight Kiwi, was a short animation that bade viewers goodnight once the day's broadcasting was done. Each night the kiwi shut up shop at the TV station, put out the milk, and caught the elevator up to a the satellite dish he shared with The Cat and went off to sleep to the soothing sounds of Hine e Hine.
Watch the Goodnight Kiwi and Cat here:
One shaggy dog, dozens of humans, and a smorgasbord of Kiwi scenery: viewers were glued to the screen for this TV One promotional campaign, which began screening in 1991. The six-part promo followed a lovable Sydney silky poodle cross travelling the country by car, train and paw. En route, roughly 50 well known Kiwis make blink and you'll miss it appearances. The popular promos were directed by Lee Tamahori, before he made Once Were Warriors.
Watch for the cameo appearances in the Wonderful World Promo here:
If you ever watched television in the 90's, no doubt you will have come across the plucky little Australian Jack Russell terrier named Spot. He starred in 43 different Telecom commercials and many of them seemingly put Spot in dangerous situations – from skateboarding to conducting orchestras – but there was nothing this little dog couldn't do. Spot died in Sydney in 2000 at age 13.
Watch Spot skateboarding in this ad:
While Spot was actually Australian – Dog from Footrot Flats is quintessentially Kiwi. The iconic canine leapt off the pages of the long-running cartoon series onto the silver screen and quickly became a star. The voice of Dog was provided by Pat Cox – the original producer of the Footrot Flats film
Watch the trailer for Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale here:
Perhaps the most famous dog in advertising was Hercules – better known as The Bugger Dog. These commercials for Toyota were created by Saatchi and featured a series of farming mishaps, each of which provoke the laconic comment – "bugger". The commercial attracted 120 complaints when it aired due to the word "bugger" – but happily for ad watchers everywhere, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the word was unlikely to cause serious offence.
Watch Hercules (The Bugger Dog) here:
A cracking theme tune, some farmers, a couple of flocks of sheep and a heading dog made for television gold when A Dog's Show premiered on New Zealand television. The show featured sheepdog trials from around the country, with commentary provided by a wise, bearded John Gordon. In this final from a 1981 series, four farmers wield sticks and whistles, and put their dogs through their paces to wrangle the "sticky sheep".
Watch A Dog's Show final here:
You can see more screen canines and felines here, in NZ On Screen's Cats and Dogs Collection.
