The mutt that makes a mint selling make-up!

Meet the Instagram pup idols collared by big brands to cash in on the cuteness

BIG BRANDS are known to be dogged in their pursuit of publicity.

The Women’s Institute stripped off to sell calendars. Red Bull even dropped daredevil Felix Baumgartner from space. Now, though, some companies are quite literally giving consumers paws for thought – by employing dogs and cats to promote their brands.

Pooches across the country are being paid up to £100 an hour to star in ad campaigns, feature in pop videos and model in photoshoots for everything from Vogue to High Street fashion chains.

The big draw for advertisers is that the chosen animals already have thousands of followers, with high-profile social media pages set up by their canny owners.

As bizarre as it might seem, some are already considered extremely influential. It means, of course, that many must follow strict organic meat diets with strenuous daily walks to maintain fitness and looks.

But while it might sound barking, it is in fact a highly lucrative business, with animals earning thousands a year for their owners.

Social media has transformed advertising. While celebrities can still earn millions to front campaigns, more subtle forms of promotion are now widespread throughout the internet. Young ‘vloggers’ such as Zoella act as ambassadors for brands and mention them in posts, while Instagram and Twitter give advertisers access to ‘influencers’ who can promote products instantly to followers.

The trend has led to the emergence of casting agencies for the most ambitious pets and owners. Melody Lewis, who set up PetLondon Models, said: ‘It’s amazing how quickly these animals take off.’

The key, says Layla Flaherty, who runs pet casting agency Urban Paws, is that animals are generally more popular than human celebrities. ‘You’d be hard pushed to find an advert with a cute chihuahua or kitten annoying,’ she said.