New ad campaign is barking

Russian dog owners are being collared by advertising agencies to turn their pets into walking billboards.

The Promo Dog project in Novosibirsk, Siberia, pays owners a fee in return for their pooches wearing specially designed clothes with ads on them.

A spokesman for the Promo Dog project said: "We have launched this project in a time of financial crisis as an alternative to traditional advertising.

"Obviously companies are now reviewing their finances and are asking how they can keep their products visible and well advertised without having to spend vast sums of money on expensive multi-media campaigns.

"Dogs go everywhere and are highly visible on the streets. There is also the novelty value of seeing a dog wrapped in an advertisement so people will stop and look. It is an excellent way of raising the profile of a company or product."

Local dog owner Natalia Mishkova, 28, who has a pet poodle said: "I signed up straight away. I walk my dog three times a day anyway so why not get paid for it?"

-Nova