While personification renders human qualities to nonhuman things, especially natural forces like wind, fire, and ocean, anthropomorphism attributes human qualities to animals. I use this literary device when I say, as I have, the rabbits conspire to reap the harvest of my vegetable garden; or the male cardinal, knowing how I await the sight of his beauty, sashays along my fence before flying off to entertain my neighbor; or her dog, realizing his complaining is pointless, chooses the more practical path of stretching out on the living room floor.
Those who think anthropomorphism in business writing is foolish haven't considered that companies and brands like Jaguar, Puma, and Red Bull named themselves after animals. Of course, sports teams are notorious for doing the same: Chicago Bulls, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Lynx, to name only a few.
