A mobile phone giant has opted to use big dogs as moving billboards to advertise its new handset.

And the company behind the innovative form of advertising is appealing for owners of larger dogs to register their pooches for future "dogverts".

Sony Ericsson have signed up new venture Dogvertise to promote their new photo messaging service with the appropriate slogan "something to drool about".

The dogs are being hired in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, London and Newcastle and will wear special coats emblazoned with the mobile firm's logo.

Professional dog walkers will be paid to parade their canine charges around city streets, and the dogs' owners get their hounds exercised for free.

Special breeds

Dogvertise say giant dogs make up only 3.8% of Britain's 6.1 million dogs, and they need the likes of St Bernard and Great Danes in order to get the right size of logo.

Based in Holland, the company will also be using sheepdogs, Newfoundlands, bloodhounds and Irish wolfhounds, as well as special breeds like the Italian Spinoni and Weineramer.

Dogvertise founder Dylan Ingham said: "We are a world first and this is the biggest advertising campaign of its kind.

"It is the beginning of a new era in advertising - a walking, barking, tail-wagging billboard."

Dogverts have been trialled before using vegetable dye to paint slogans on the coat of the dog itself.