Entries Tagged 'Marketing' ↓

Think advertising is going to the dogs? Well, it is—but it's also going to the cats. Having targeted pet owners for decades, advertisers are now appealing to animals directly with everything from TV spots to billboards to iPad games. Below, check out nine beastly ads targeted directly at pets. The next time your best friend asks for a product by name, you'll know why. (Photo above by Yukari.)

1. Beneful (TV)

   This European TV spot, made this year for Nestlé Purina's Beneful dog food, featured a high-pitched sound, like a dog whistle, that only dogs could hear. Having gotten the dogs' attention, it's unclear what the spot was supposed to do next. Some dogs probably rushed up to the TV and stood there looking eager and confused.

2. Bonzo (Outdoor)
   
   Same idea as the Beneful spot, but a decade earlier—and outdoors. In Holland in 2001, Bonzo dog food set up a series of billboards that emitted an ultra-sonic sound every 10 seconds that dogs could hear but people couldn't. "Bark if you like Bonzo!" said the headline.
3. Wagg (Outdoor)
   
   Sure, dogs are attracted to certain sounds. But they're even more into smells. In 2010, U.K. pet-food maker Wagg Foods rolled out dog-food-scented ads on sidewalks to lure pooches (and their owners) over for a sniff. Scientists combined 15 mystery fragrances to create the smell, in an effort to "drive dogs wild." (It probably frustrated them, too, since there was nothing there to eat.)
4. Affinity Petcare (Outdoor)
   
   This 2005 billboard from Germany was similar to the Wagg boards, but not as high-tech. Actual dog food was hidden behind the ad, with holes cut in the board to let the smell waft through. So, there was food, but the dogs couldn't get at it. Even more frustrating!
5. GranataPet (Outdoor)

   Finally, an ad that lets the dog eat! Earlier this year, GranataPet, a pet-food company in Germany (the Europeans really are pioneering this stuff), put up a billboard urging passersby to check in at the location on Foursquare. In return, the ad spit out dog food for their pooches to nosh on. "Check in! Snack out!" said the headline.

6. Animal Planet (Outdoor)
   
   Dogs love the smell of food. But you know what they love more? The smell of urine. In 2001, Animal Planet advertised a new dog-awards show in the U.K. with ads, affixed at the base of lampposts, that smelled like dog pee. (When a pooch came over for a sniff, the owner saw a larger ad at human-eye level promoting the show.) The urine smell was artificially made by the mad alchemists at Celessence. The idea came from PR agency Red Consultancy, which told Adweek at the time that it had "identified the 'cocked-leg market.' "
7. Hotel for Cats (TV)

   Enough about dogs. What about cats? Being marginally stupider and/or more standoffish than dogs, cats haven't been targeted as often. But this year, local-commercial mercenaries Rhett & Link did do a spot promoting the Holiday Hotel for Cats in Los Angeles in which the owner, Margaret Hughes, speaks in cat language—a mix of mews, trills and meows. Hopefully cats responded better than humans, whose primary reaction was bafflement.

8. Whiskas (TV)

   Of course, if you really want to get a cat's attention, you don't try to speak to it. You try to get it to chase shit. This Whiskas commercial, made way back in 1999, was perfect—showing all sorts of objects floating around on the screen. And it surely worked, judging by how excited cats can get about certain floating-object DVD screen savers.

9. Friskies (Digital)
   
   "But doesn't the future of direct-to-pet advertising lie in digital?" you ask. You may be right. Once again, Purina is at the leading edge of innovation in this regard, releasing Friskies-branded iPad games for cats earlier this year. The iPad really is a cat-friendly device, as it can lie flat on the ground and show objects bouncing all around on its display. Just remember your screen guard!

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Ken Jeong is always a welcome face in advertising. He did that memorable Pepto-Bismol spot set inside the human digestive tract, and he's also done PSA work like this disco-thumpin' spot for the American Heart Association. Now, the Community actor is going green in a new "The More You Know" clip as part of NBCUniversal's "Green is Universal" environmental initiative. The video below contains Jeong's new ad, co-starring shag carpeting, as well as second spot with Chuck actors Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez. (There are also behind-the-scenes interviews with all three.) The spots will air during Green Week on Nov. 13-20. NBCUniversal's green initiative is now its fifth year. This year's theme is "Mugs Save Trees," which urges people to use reusable mugs and cups instead of disposable ones—and save 9 million trees a year. During Green Week, Green is Universal will go to agencies with a coffee bar and serve up specialty coffee drinks in reusable mugs. Free coffee will also be distributed to the public from coffee carts and coffee shops around New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. There's also a Facebook contest where people can upload their own "mugs"—photos of themselves holding their reusable mugs—to win prizes including mugs signed by NBCUniversal talent and a trip to Universal Hollywood. Also, an entire graphics package developed with Wolff Olins incorporates NBC's peacock feather shape into a variety of shapes such as a lightbulb, a leaf, and a new Green is Universal logo, which mimics a recycling symbol.

Here's a wonderful—though potentially hazardous—out-of-home execution for Asics running shoes by ad agency Vitro. Timed to the ING New York City Marathon this past weekend, Asics installed a 60-foot video wall in the Columbus Circle subway station and challenged passersby to race against top U.S. marathoner Ryan Hall. Of course, few people could keep up with his 6-foot-10 stride length and 4:46 mile pace, even for 60 feet. (He chugs along like that for 26.2 miles.) No one pulled a hammy or crashed into a bystander, either, as far as we can tell. Asics always does interesting things around the marathon. Again this year, as it did last year, the brand's "Support Your Marathoner" campaign collected texts, photos, and videos from friends and family and projected them on large screens around the course—with the personal messages triggered by the chips that all the runners wear on their shoes. The brand also built a Wall of Names in Columbus Circle, with every runner's name featured, and unveiled a new video (also starring Hall) with a new slogan, "Stop at never." Check out those materials after the jump.