Standing out in today’s noisy, information-overload, social-media-driven world is difficult for any type of brand, and pet food companies certainly don’t get a pass. (Try searching TikTok for “pet food” and see how many users pop up, not just pet food brands but also random individuals and groups.)
Thus, it’s always interesting, not to mention entertaining, to follow pet food campaigns and efforts that manage to break through the marketing and social media clutter. Heading into the busy bombardment of the holiday season (especially for those of us in the U.S. who just survived the election advertising season), here are a few recent fun and effective examples.
Larger-than-life spotlight on pet obesity
Overweight and obesity in pets is on the rise in the U.S. (as in other markets, especially developed ones), yet it typically doesn’t get the necessary attention from pet owners or, to be frank, pet food companies. When it comes to pet owners, nearly one-third in a 2022 survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) said their pets had normal or ideal body weight; yet the same survey showed 59% of U.S. dogs and 61% of cats were overweight or obese. (APOP is currently doing a new version of the survey.)
One pet food brand, Iams (part of Mars Petcare), set out to raise awareness of the problem, at least among dog owners, in a unique and highly visible way. On November 24, 2024, it wedged a giant dog balloon — modeled after a real-life dog with weight issues named Waylon —between two buildings in Chicago’s Loop neighborhood on the route to the city’s Thanksgiving parade.
Passersby could scan QR codes to link to the Iams Healthy Weight Dog Hub, where they could learn more about Waylon’s journey toward reaching a healthier weight with a combination of regular exercise, veterinary care and Iams nutrition and tools, including tips for exercising and treating, a serving-size calculator for portion control and a tool for owners to assess their dogs’ body condition score.
To me, the hub is the most valuable part of this campaign, because I believe pet owners often lack the information and tools they need to keep their furry family members at a healthy weight. (That portion control calculator seems particularly helpful.) So what if it took a huge, cute balloon to get some people to see those tools — connecting them with a real dog and his story likely drove the points home more effectively.
Off to the races with pet food
Market research shows that younger consumers value experiences, including interactions with brands; one concept gaining traction among marketers trying to reach these groups is gamification, or using a game to facilitate that brand interaction. A recent pet food example: the Purina Arena Pet Racing game on the popular Roblox platform.
With millions of users, including children and other young groups, Roblox offers Purina a way to invite consumers to act on the “special bond between people and their pets,” bringing that “connection to life in a fun, interactive way,” according to a Purina executive quoted in a press release. Unlike the Iams balloon gimmick, a brief promotion focused on a health problem, the Purina game celebrates the human-pet bond and can last as long as a pet owner wants to play, presumably. However, the game isn’t just for fun; it includes pet adoption and care elements, exposing players to Purina’s pet care expertise, the press release says. In other words, it serves up some ongoing education with the entertainment.
Presidential campaigns for a cause
I mentioned the exhausting U.S. election (speaking from experience here). Some of us slogging through it did get a welcome, heartwarming break with the announcement of two campaigns for presidential candidates of the feline and canine persuasion. First Morris the Cat, the legendary mascot and “spokescat” for 9Lives, the iconic pet food brand now owned by Post Consumer Brands, announced in summer 2024 that he was running for president, repeating bids in 1988, 1992 and 2012. Just a few months later, Rocky, a mixed-breed former stray turned service-dog-in-training at K9s For Warriors, also announced his candidacy.
The point of both campaigns, besides inserting some furry cuteness and levity into the race, was to highlight charitable causes: pet adoption in the case of Morris and, with Rocky, the importance of service dogs to veterans. While K9s For Warriors is obviously not a pet food brand, I think it’s worth mentioning here because it provides service dogs for veterans with “invisible” war wounds such as post traumatic stress syndrome or traumatic brain injury.
Spotlighting a feel-good cause such as pet adoption or the need for service dogs is always a winner for a brand or entity. (And, if either candidacy had been real, I would’ve voted for Morris or Rocky in a heartbeat.)
