A dog that doesn’t bark or need to be walked? WHISKAS creates new breed of dog as part of latest global adoption campaign via Colenso BBDO
The whole world wants a dog. But what people are searching for tells a different story, with search data indicating that people are more frequently looking for dogs that are impossibly low-maintenance. Global pet food brand WHISKAS believes the answer may be a ‘Meowzer’ – a new breed of dog it has created, that’s suspiciously similar to a cat. The new global adoption campaign has been developed by Colenso BBDO.
Says Bianca Malcolm, Whiskas New Zealand: “The amount of searches for ‘lazy dog breeds that can be left alone’ has doubled in the past year, and is predicted to increase another 50% by the end of this year. People are looking for dogs that don’t bark, don’t need to be walked, don’t need to be trained, and are happy for long stretches at home – in other words, they’re looking for a cat.”
Says Kimberley Ragan, group creative director, Colenso BBDO: “We realised the perfect dog already exists. All it needed was a name change. Meet the Meowzer. It’s the perfect dog, for people who can’t really cope with a dog.”
The Meowzer is another way the WHISKAS brand is working towards its global goal of ending pet homelessness. It prevents dogs being returned to shelters due to incompatibility and allows potential pet parents to find their perfect adoptable cat instead.
Says Ragan: “Wherever people are searching for their ideal low-maintenance dog, we’re making sure they meet a Meowzer instead. By intercepting common search terms, the Meowzer is presented as the answer to every ‘impossible’ dog search.”
Based on their digital footprint, users are served short content films created with production partner, BUCK, which reveal the Meowzer to be the perfect answer to their search.
Meanwhile on social, The Meowzer was launched to the world by influencer Elias Weiss Friedman of The Dogist, while popular audio creator Puppysongs created a Meowzer song to kick off #Meowzer on TikTok.
As the campaign rolls out they will be joined by more dog and cat influencers, both with the united goal of helping adopters find the right pet, with all online activity supported by outdoor posters and digital OOH.
@madmax_fluffyroad This dog breed is called a Meowzer. It cleans itself, walks itself, never barks, and you can just leave it at home. Pls adopt a Meowzer (link in bio), but if you already have one use this @puppysongs to create your own Meowzer music video. Love, Geoff #Meowzer @whiskasnz #WHISKAS #ad ♬ Meowzer - Puppysongs
All touchpoints lead adopters to the Meowzer website, which uses a smart matching algorithm to accurately match potential adopters to the right Meowzers for them.
Client: Mars WHISKAS
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Production partners: BUCK and Franklin Rd
Media partner: Essence Mediacom
PR: Porter Novelli
27 Comments
Not sure this is actually effective? And not really fooling everyone.
Be more cat?
Great name
Why is it called Meowser? I get the cat part ‘Meow’ but not the dog part?
Yep.
How about a cat that doesn’t kill native wildlife, doesn’t walk its’ filthy paws over my entire kitchen surfaces and implements, oh and doesn’t defecate and fumigate my home with turds?
Adopt a Quoll.
love this. love the dogist. love how the “dumb people” problem of wanting a lazy dog that doesn’t need walking and can be left alone for hours on end has been smartly solved. big fan.
A little less now.
So many people like the idea of a dog but actually they just don’t have a lifestyle that suits having a dog. That feels like a really nice truth that a cat food brand can talk about. Then creating an ideal dog breed is really fun. I like it.
Very true. Very funny.
Thankfully, this is a dog
Love this. Nice one
Very nice.
Keep a cat, rent a dog.
great campaign. pitty whiskers is the equivalent to cats, as fruit loops caramalised in sugar is to toddlers.
not fun.
Love this. Absolutely brilliant.
Awesome campaign. Nice work. Great insight. Claps.
‘great insight’
Insight: Cats are less work than dogs
….
I thought the insight of people being unfortunately more and more picky with the characteristics of their dog was a nice insight. And they created a really charming idea with it. I wish I had thought of it. It’s a great campaign. Kudos again to all involved.
Anyone with an IQ above 70 and any training in what makes advertising work can see this is a great spot.
It’s rare to see a great spot because of the bureaucratic nonsense hoops every campaign is squeezed through.
But even when something slips through the cracks of the intellectual ineptitude that plagues this industry we still see comments on this website from sad men (I assume men, for probably good reason) who in service to their own creative impotence feel the need to tear people down.
Let me count the ways…
@Hmm says: Not sure this is actually effective? And not really fooling everyone.
What are you basing your judgement of effectiveness on? And saying it isn’t “fooling everyone” (anyone is what you meant) – you think the people that made this honestly thought people would go “wow they made a new type of actual dog”? You’re dumber than the audience you think is too dumb to get an actual idea.
@I must be dumb. says: Why is it called Meowser? I get the cat part ‘Meow’ but not the dog part?
Yes, you are dumb. Dumb as dog shit.
@Or option C: says: How about a cat that doesn’t kill native wildlife…
You never seen a dog chomp on a magpie or blue tongue lizard? I have. Most cat owners who aren’t fuggen gronks keep their cats inside at night. And what does this comment have to do with the work itself. If you want to put yourself on a pedestal for being a better corporate citizen than the rest of us you missed a golden opportunity to put your name to the comment. Coward.
@bakes! says: great campaign. pitty whiskers is the equivalent to cats, as fruit loops caramalised in sugar is to toddlers. not fun.
Grow up.
@@ kodak says: ‘great insight’ Insight: Cats are less work than dogs
This actually is a great insight. Guarantee you’re a planner that spends more time saying “that’s an observation, not an insight” than actually helping your creative teams do something interesting.
I absolutely don’t work for this agency and client. I acknowledge that this is a weird ad to pick as a hill to die on. I don’t have too much time on my hands, I just hate how all the negative bullshit in this industry makes life so much harder and tedious.
Well said. Except the men and creatives thing. Stupidity in agencies unfortunately isn’t contained to gender, or creative departments.
The whole Google thing is totally made up – bordering on a lie in that video.
How do you get away with that? Just animate it in house to make the search terms work for your idea?
It undoes the whole idea for me – which doesn’t need it to exist (and is quite nice).
Ok, so the insight is that people want dogs but don’t have a lifestyle to suit. That’s good. Brought to you by a cat food brand. That’s better. Who rebranded cats as the perfect dog. And called that new breed a Meowzer. This idea is perfect.
It’s kinda the same idea as this, but will no doubt be executed way better:
https://campaignbrief.com/rspca-nsw-introduces-inclusive-rescue-breed-rescuoodles-in-new-campaign-via-mc-saatchi/
“Wow, yeah, CATS! I never considered this pet option before nor had I ever really heard about its characteristics!”
Please. If this industry is going to give you existential crises, try this reason. All this (decent) effort, thrown into a vacuum.
It’s not the insight, it’s the brief. Know your audience.
This may be my favourite CB comment thread ever.
All the usual BS knocking the ad, someone else jumping in to point out all that BS and then ‘not entirely new’ and ‘person looking for a dog’ chime in.
@not entirely new…the quicker you learn it doesn’t have to be new, it just have to work in shifting product, the better your career will be. But in what ways is the rescuoodles campaign this same as this one? Is it because they both use animals and a made up word?
@’person looking for a dog’ – you do know there is a very large proportion of people that like both cats and dogs. And those people may get swayed to choose a cat when they realise their current lifestyle is not suited to a dog right now.
1- They’re both ‘choose me’ pet campaigns using the old ‘the solution is right in front of you, if we just rebrand it!’ concept
2- I don’t think this will be very eye-opening to people who already like both cats and dogs, but whatever keeps you going
All dog breeds that routinely hunt & kill birds should be banned.