WHEN THE ANDREX puppy loses his job, you know things are pretty bad.

The much-loved Labrador retriever, which fronts the toilet-tissue company’s TV commercials, has been replaced with a computer-generated canine.

Viewers of last night’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’ on ITV were the first to see the real-life dog’s animated replacement.

The Telegraph reports that the company denied introducing CGI to the new multi-million euro marketing campaign because of cost-cutting. But they confirmed no living puppies star in the new 40-second spot.

Instead, the labrador has been digitally recreated using the movements and mannerisms of thousands of dogs which animators – who also worked on the Harry Potter films – studied.

Jon White, the company’s marketing director explained that the brand needed to be “refreshed”, despite the real dog’s popularity. He said:

We really believe we’ve given him a new lease of life and have evolved his character.

Brands have to refresh themselves in order to stay relevant to today’s consumers and this is exactly what we’re doing.

We are refreshing, not reinventing. The Puppy is still at the centre of our communications.

In the new advert, a female puppy is shown arriving at an airport after a holiday, as another clumsy puppy prepares their home for her arrival. A voiceover says: ‘It’s the little things in life that make the difference’.