If You're Listening This town ain't big enough for two dog puppets
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Nov 3, 2025 Dive into the bizarre tale of a legal feud between two puppet dogs! Discover how the Pets.com sock puppet sparked a massive advertising campaign during the dot-com boom. Compare its charm with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's abrasive personality. Enjoy the humor as Triumph mocks Pets.com in a scathing response to their lawsuit. Ultimately, the case never went to trial after Pets.com's downfall, leaving both puppets to follow very different fates. Unravel the quirky world of marketing mascots and their outrageous courtroom drama!
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Creation And Rise Of The Sock Puppet
- Pets.com hired TBWA to create a lo-fi sock puppet dog as their mascot and Michael Ian Black performed as its voice and hand.
- The puppet became central to a costly ad campaign designed to hype Pets.com's upcoming IPO.
Sock Puppet Goes Mainstream Fast
- The initial Pets.com ad premiered in August 1999 and immediately became a cultural hit.
- The puppet soon appeared in a Macy's parade float, a Super Bowl ad, and even a parody memoir.
Hype Over Unit Economics
- Pets.com spent massively to build hype because it sold products at a loss and relied on its IPO for funding.
- The marketing campaign's success mattered more than unit economics during the dot-com boom.