Naperville Rescue Dog Hopes To Land Starring TV Ad Role As Bunny

NAPERVILLE, IL — For years, Jeff and Emily Meader had jokingly dressed their dog up with bunny ears, never expecting that the animal impersonation would ever go anywhere.

But for a Naperville couple who have always named their rescue dogs after other animals, including Monkey and Wolfie (short for Wolfgang), the Chihuahua they adopted from a DeKalb animal rescue in 2017 had always been "Bunny" — whether the decorative ears were on for the full effect or not.

But now "Bunny" has taken it to the next level and is in the running for a nationally televised commercial for Cadbury Creme Eggs as — well, you guessed it — an Easter bunny.

Bunny was recently selected as a finalist in the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts, in which voters can cast online ballots to choose their favorite “bunny” for a television commercial for the famous chocolate Easter eggs.

Voters have until March 14 to make their selection in the online contest, which features photos and videos of all the contestants. Bunny, who was adopted from Tails Humane Society in DeKalb is described as being “as sweet as a Cadbury Creme Egg”.

The Meaders got word that "Bunny" had been chosen as a finalist on March 2, but had to keep the news to themselves until March 6 when Cadbury made the official announcement. The designation as a finalist didn't come as a total surprise to Bunny's owners.

"She's always been a cute, quirky, photogenic little Muppet almost," Jeff Meader told Patch on Friday. "She's white, she has this tongue that hangs out and has no teeth. So she's just really cute, especially in an Easter outfit."

So when the local couple saw an announcement for the Cadbury contest (on the last day for submissions no less), they knew they had to enter Bunny. When they saw the contest was designated for rescue pets, the Meaders saw it as a sign.

"We said, alright, that's her calling," Meader said. "This is perfect for her. ...we thought that this is a dog that could be enjoyed by America."

If selected, the winning pet’s owners will receive $5,000 and will be able to donate $5,000 to the animal shelter of their choosing, according to a news release. The Meaders have always tried to support local rescue operations and said that Bunny was part of a group of five dogs that were rescued from what Meader said was a hoarding situation.

Tails in DeKalb had initially named her "Butter," but when the couple that has a penchant for naming their rescues after animals they are not, they knew which way they had to go with their newest dog's new identity.

“My tongue likes to hang out, giving me the cutest expressions,” the description that accompanies Bunny’s photo and video submission reads. “I was rescued in 2017 and am living my best life with lots of heated blankets, cute sweaters, and a family that loves me.”

Bunny was selected from thousands of submissions and Cadbury officials said that while the decision to narrow the field down to a group of finalists isn’t easy, the selection committee feels as if it has given voters plenty of good options.

“Over the years, we’ve received tens of thousands of submissions for the Cadbury Bunny Tryouts and year five entries did not disappoint — they were unique and full of heartwarming stories about the rescue pets who fill their homes with joy,” Cam Bogie, a senior associate brand manager for Cadbury said in a news release.

Bunny is one of 10 finalists for the national ad and faces some stiff competition against other animals including a duck, a Guinea pig, and a miniature horse. Meader said that the attention Bunny has received since the Cadbury announcement has been enjoyable. Family members have used social media posts to promote Bunny's candidacy. Voters can cast as many votes on the Cadbury contest site as they wish through March 14 deadline.

"It's just been fun," Meader told Patch. "It's not like a celebrity thing where we have downtown Naperville showing her off or anything like that, but it's been fun. ...People who see her love her, and it's just nice to see it get out there. Just seeing Cadbury focusing on rescues this year was just kind of a cool thing to get involved with.

"It's been kind of neat to see."

Michelle Groeper, the executive director of Tails Humane Society, told Patch in an email that she is glad that "Bunny" has gotten into the competition for the Cadbury commercial.

"We’re so excited for our alum Bunny to be a Cadbury finalist," she wrote in an email on Friday. "She’s already bringing awareness to pet adoption by making it this far in the contest. We’re also honored that if she wins, her humans will donate make a donation to Tails Humane Society and another animal shelter they support. We’re voting for Bunny every day and hope everyone else does too!"