If you missed this story ‘Woman filmed dumping cat in wheelie bin in Coventry’ this week (which would have been near on impossible, because it was covered just about everywhere), let me enlighten you.
Lola, a four-year-old tabby cat, went missing in Coventry at the weekend. She was discovered 15 hours later by her owner, Darryl Mann, after he heard her cries from a dustbin. He then checked his security cameras and saw footage of a middle aged woman first stroking Lola and then grabbing her by the neck and throwing her in the bin.
How could she? Cat lovers in Britain were in uproar after a woman put a cat in a bin!
West Midlands Police said they received a call on Sunday evening reporting what had happened. They said the actions caught on CCTV could constitute an animal cruelty offence because of the likely suffering caused to the cat. The police said they were supporting the RSPCA investigation and urged the public to leave the matter to the authorities. From the CCTV footage the woman was identified and a large crowd has now gathered outside the woman’s home and police community support officers have been there to monitor the situation.
Having listened to commuters, colleagues and flatmates discuss this story and how awful it was, it got me thinking. We read awful stories in the news everyday so what was it about this article that really struck a chord with UK readers?
Firstly, we are a nation of pet lovers, so we instantly feel drawn to the story. It is unlikely that it would have received as much hype in other countries where they are not so pet crazy. Animal extremists in the UK are even sending the woman death threats and she is currently under police protection – that’s how much we love our pets!
Secondly the story evoked different emotions in us. Some male friends of mine thought it was hilarious, whereas most of the girls I spoke with thought it was a case of severe animal cruelty and looked really saddened by the incident. The story is bizarre too; it’s normal for a person to be attracted to a cute cat – you don’t expect them to turn around and throw it in a bin! A moment of madness on her part – I guess we will never know, but however you look at it, it made us all sit up and take notice.
Thirdly, and most importantly, especially in our role as PR professionals, the incident was filmed. We saw exactly what happened. Do you really think this story would have received the same media exposure without the surveillance video? I know I clicked on the video before I’d even got a quarter of the way through the article. I wanted to see this crazy woman.
Video and visual content needs to be a part of everything we do. As more and more video content hits the web and media outlets, it is becoming the norm, and needs to be considered for every campaign, every launch and every release.
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