Advertising has gone to the dogs

Seriously. Nestle Purina PetCare is releasing a commercial aimed not just at dog owners, but also at the pets themselves. The ad for Beneful dog food, which will run in Austria, includes a series of squeaks and high-frequency tones that take advantage of a dog’s sharp hearing. You can read the article about it here.

All of this brings up some interesting questions.

• Do dogs show brand preference? They are, after all, known to be loyal.


• Will it spur bark-of-mouth promotion when canines meet at the park or kennel?


• What’s next? Direct mail addressed to Fido? Print ads and web paages optimized for color-blindness?


• Will this open the door to a new specialization: multi-species marketing?

In all seriousness, though, it will be interesting to see if this unique approach, and the press it brings, has any impact on Beneful sales. What do you think?