Bears  are mainly used to impersonate strength, or power, or endurance. They are often chosen because they live in a cold and harsh environment and also because of their sometimes humanlike posture. Bears can represent nature.

  Camels  - that is generally known - cruise the deserts on a drop of water. They are therefore almost exclusively cast in a dry setting and relating to frugality while a chuckle is never far away.

  A cat  purring her afternoon away is an archetype of well-being, enjoying the good things of life in the safe environment and warmth of one's home. That is quite a lot of important feelings on which to hook a good message.
Several writers can't correctly identify the bigger cats. They get tangled in the dots and stripes. Most writers therefore play it safe and don't risk any further than some obvious allusions about dot patterns.

  Elephants  are powerful and have a remarkable memory. A perfect match with the humble servants on our desk-tops. Elephants on sixty percent of our samples advertise computers or related things like networks, printers and copiers.

  Fish  stand out because they are not used to add a green touch. Copy-writers never find any strong point of fish in their subject. The fish favoured by most writers is the Goldfish. Other colourful fish come second, sharks far behind and fish like sardine, herring and piranha are only rarely called upon.

  Giraffes  show no clear affinity for any single product type. There is wide agreement to stick to the facts —Giraffes are high with a long neck— or to tickle the funny bone with some mild humor. They are very convenient to flavour an advertisement with a soupçon of exotism.

  Horses  come in three kinds: with or without stripes and donkeys. Zebras are surprisingly often shown in scenes about imitation and copying. A horse is an epitome of quality, class, perfection, sometimes power. Horses also stand for freedom. Donkeys are stupid.

  Mice  are extremely versatile. A bottle of beer, a printer, a bank account, a scanner, a spread-sheet, human resource management, you name it, most likely has something in common with a mouse.

  Penguins  are so cute, so human, so funny. But that's clearly not good enough to make a good messenger. Most advertisements stick to take-away allusions about ice, cold and dress-code.

  Pigs  usually mean money and a rosy future. Hog writers stay bottom level with ordinary allusions. But surprisingly enough pigs and family are also often used to indicate quality! Be it indirectly, but still.

  Sea mammals  come most regularly as whales or dolphins and often breach to a better life. Whales sometimes symbolize an unspoiled environment that must be preserved while dolphins stand for intelligence and communication. Pinnipeds are less popular and haven't much of great value to tell.