AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — 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 impossibly low-maintenance dogs.
Global pet food brand, Whiskas, believes the answer may be a “Meowzer” — a new breed of dog they’ve created, that’s suspiciously similar to a cat.
“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,” said Whiskas New Zealand’s Bianca Malcolm. “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.”
“We realized the perfect dog already exists. All it needed was a name change,” said Colenso BBDO Group Creative Director Kimberley Ragan. “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 from being returned to shelters due to incompatibility and allows potential pet parents to find their perfect adoptable cat instead.
Kimberley, added, “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 reveals the Meowzer to be the perfect answer to their search.
Meanwhile, on social, The Meowzer was launched to the world by influencer The Dogist Founder and New York Times Bestselling Author Elias Weiss Friedman, 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.
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.
