Amazon turns to animals to grab shoppers' attention

Seattle

AMAZON.COM Inc is not above the surefire trick of using cute animals to woo shoppers. The world's largest online retailer is spending more money on flashy TV commercials featuring dogs and ponies - and more on marketing overall - in a push to turn around slowing sales growth.

And the message has changed too: Rather than hawking hardware like Kindle e-readers, furry pets are pitching Amazon's US$99 Prime membership, which features delivery discounts and media streaming.

One ad shows a little white dog wearing a blue cast, hobbling down the road after his master while other dogs fetch Frisbees and balls. The sympathetic owner uses an Amazon Prime app to order a Baby Bjorn child carrier to tote his pet…