Our next Zebra advertisements (Nos. 4, 5) are also about copying. The black &
white and colour range of copiers are represented by the black & white and coloured
half of a Zebra. The Zebra of No. 5 was given colours because he is selling a
colour printer and gallopping because the printer is extremely fast.
We have an advertisement for carbonless multicopy colour forms where
Zebra fish are doing the work. There must be some
connection between Zebras and copy and colour but I fail to see it.
Our next example is a bit peculiar because I was surprised to find a Zebra with the caption Stripes don't suit everyone. I would rather expect an edited picture of another species with ill fitting stripes (e.g. the elephant of No. 14). Apart from that, I consider it the best episode of a series of adverts about this banking company. Other captions were Full-bodied enthusiasm and A nose for opportunity each with a Zebra.
Some copywriters prefer to use a Tiger when they need stripes (see Bigger cats).
Zebras are living in herds. Often the herds are mixed thus giving plenty of openings towards partnership and friendship and the like but I have still to find the first advert taking this approach. There are times in the life of a herd when not all noses are pointing in the same direction. Advert 10 captures such a moment to stress the feeling of anxiety towards the future. But this company can help. We have a French and a Dutch version and both texts are not entirely equivalent. In French there is Only one solution. The text in Dutch says There is only one way out : ahead.
The Zebras of Nos. 11 and 12 stand for South-Africa. A country is often represented by a typical species living within its borders. Zebras are used for trade fairs in Cape Town and holidays in Kenia, Tanzania as well. Examples with other species online : elephant ≡ South Africa (see Elephant); tiger ≡ Asia (see Bigger cats).
No product has a closer relationship to the trio escape, discovery, adventure than a 4×4 vehicle. Small wonder that we have an advertisement where a nice car is dropped between a bunch of Zebras (17). Curiously enough the text is all about how well the car will perform in city traffic ! The text only mentions elephants, no Zebra, and sounds like the writer is making fun at our expense : … Designed for the jungle, he isn't afraid of the yearly 5 cm of snow … and … A fuel economy you will certainly appreciate counting the hours you will spend queueing …
A pension plan will bring you a better life in the future. The plan is announced with a picture of Zebras drinking on a well. We recognize the feeling of No. 12 (friends, good atmosphere) but also the notion of safari and the luxury of a holiday.
Advert 15 about the ADSL internet connection is part of a series where several wild animal species are shown. The Zebra could have been chosen for the notion of freedom or because they were running out of species. (Read about the Cat version).
The next example (16) is also part of a group of similar advertisements for ICT professionals. Several species are shown and in most cases I can only guess why a specific animal was taken.