If you had a TV in your home in 2007, chances are you remember Sarah McLachlan’s heartbreaking ASPCA commercial — the one with abused animals flashing across the screen as her song “Angel” plays in the background.
The ad became unforgettable, but for McLachlan, 57, it’s a memory she’d rather forget.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, the Grammy-winning artist reflected on how it all came together. A friend of hers, who served on the board of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approached her about doing a commercial.
At the time, the ASPCA had never used a celebrity before — but they figured they’d give it a try. “I love animals, and we thought it might be a cool thing to do, so I did it,” she said on Thursday, June 26.
The iconic commercial shows a tear-jerking montage of injured and abandoned animals, with McLachlan urging viewers to “be an angel for a helpless animal” and sign up for monthly donations.
While it raised a whopping $30 million the year it aired, McLachlan admits it’s tough for her to watch.
“The music and the visuals… it’s painful,” she said. “I couldn’t watch it. It was just like, ‘Oh God, this is awful.’”
Still, she acknowledged, “It worked like a hot damn.” Despite the success, the Canadian singer said the ad didn’t reflect her true personality.
“I’m a super-happy, super-optimistic person. That showed me as this sort of quiet, sad person with all my puppies and kittens,” she recalled. “I’ll never forget the director saying, ‘I just need a little more [makes a sad face] from you.’”
More than 15 years later, McLachlan finally got the chance to poke fun at the ad — including during a Super Bowl spot for Busch Light.
“When I got the opportunity to take the piss out of it, with the Audi commercial and the Super Bowl [Busch Light] commercial, that was just gleeful for me,” she said with a laugh.
Sad animal ads may no longer be in her future, but McLachlan’s legacy as the face of one of the most emotional PSAs ever lives on — whether she likes it or not.
