NOW THAT’S A PUPPY BOWL
Mogul’s $6M Supe ad hails dog’s saviors
A wealthy Wisconsin businessman is so madly in love with his dog he bought a $6 million Super Bowl commercial to honor the veterinarians who saved the ailing pooch’s life.
David MacNeil, the CEO of the WeatherTech car accessory firm in Madison, snapped up the highly coveted airtime in Sunday’s big game to feature his golden retriever Scout, who survived 100-1 odds to beat canine blood cancer.
“Hi, I’m Scout and I’m a lucky dog — and not just because I found this cool stick . . . I’m a cancer survivor,” a voice-over says in the 30-second commercial, which features the 7-yearold pooch bounding on a beach with driftwood in his mouth.
“I’m alive thanks to a cuttingedge program at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.”
In July 2019, vets found a tumor on the pooch’s heart, and Scout faced a long-shot operation, MacMacNeil told localal station WMTV.
“There he waswas in this little room, standing in thehe corner . . . and he’s wagging his tailail at me,” said MacNeil. “I’m like,, ‘I’m not putting that dog down. There’shere’s just absolutely no way.’ ”
Instead, he brought thee pooch to the renowned veterinary school, where he underwent months of chemotherapy and radiation. The tumor soon shrunk to 10 percent of its original size, and is now almost entirely gone, he said. MacNeil now hopes the ad — which also subtly makes mention of WeatherTech — will encourageage animal lovers watcwatchinging the San FrancisFrancisco 49ers face off agaiagainst the Kansas CCity Chiefs to donate to the vet school. “Their research hhas the ppotentential to save millions of pets’ lives,” the commercial says before urging viewers to give via WeatherTech.com/donate.
“At the end of the day, Scout’s quality of life is his family’s most important concern, as it is ours,” UW School of Veterinary Medicine professor David Vail said.
It’s not the first time Scout has lapped up national atten tion. He also featured in a WeatherTech ad during last year’s Super Bowl.
The canine star’s latest commercial had garnered 530,000 in YouTube views on Friday.