What Sarah McLachlan Thinks About Her Iconic Sad Commercials

Back in 2007, Sarah McLachlan was approached about appearing in an ad for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and she readily agreed. The result? This famous ASPCA spot showing various dogs and cats in shelter cages, looking absolutely miserable. Some are filthy; one is missing an eye. As McLachlan's plaintive song "Angel" plays in the background, the singer appears onscreen and asks, "Will you be an angel for a helpless animal? Every day, innocent animals are abused, beaten, and neglected, and are crying out for help." 

The heart-tugging ad helped raise $30 million for the ASPCA, according to the Charlotte Observer (via Elite Daily) and still pops up, usually on late-night programming. There's no data on how many pets have been saved over the last 16 years because of the McLachlan ad. Yet, despite all the good that came of it, McLachlan has some regrets about lending her name and voice to the campaign. In a 2015 interview (excerpted here in Cinema Blend), McLachlan explained, "It was brutal doing those ads," she said. "It was like, 'Can you just be a little sadder and a little more this and a little more that?'" And after all that work, "I can't watch them," McLachlan said. "It kills me."

She might feel differently about her latest national ad, which will air during Super Bowl LVII. The only tears it's designed to produce are ones of laughter.