Monday, 2 November 2020

New Whiskas advertisement urges India to adopt cats


~ Campaign goes live in partnership with MX player ~

2nd November 2020, Mumbai: Whiskas – a brand of MARS Petcare, the leaders in pet food and nutrition – has introduced a new advertising campaign promoting cat adoption. The four-week campaign will air from today on MX Player, the leading entertainment super app, and on Whiskas YouTube. The campaign will be amplified through the popular Humans of Bombay social media handles as well as on other social and digital media. Whiskas has also tied up with actors who are cat parents, such as Gauahar Khan and others, for the campaign. 

There is a lot of skepticism around cats as pets because most people think they are not as affectionate as dogs and also because of the superstitions surrounding them. Contrary to perception, cats are curious companions, loving friends, and playful housemates who bring positivity and happiness to the house. For city dwellers, cats are practical pets because they do not have to be taken out or attended to constantly. They are content indoors as long as they have access to fresh food, clean water, a designated litter tray, and toys to keep them entertained. However, there are many stray kittens looking for loving homes. Whiskas has relentlessly tried to create awareness around cat needs and care through its ‘Feed Their Curiosity’ philosophy.

Whiskas, through the #BringHomeCuriosity campaign, reaches out to people, especially youth across cities, encouraging them to adopt a kitten today.

The 34-second film, conceptualised by MX Player, opens with a young working professional, Ramya, who is not only very busy but also misses human contact. While working, she hears a meow and spots a cute kitten on her window. She tries to attract the kitten’s attention, but it is more interested in a ball of yarn and is nervous around Ramya. Ramya feeds the kitten a packet of Whiskas cat food – the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The advertisement ends with Ramya tying a ribbon around the kitten’s neck and placing it on a cat bed, making it a part of her family.

Ganesh Ramani, General Manager, MARS Petcare, said: “Cats, which were not the preferred choice as pets, are gaining popularity. Now, more than ever, people are turning to them as a source of comfort and companionship during these unprecedented times. While cat adoption has been growing fast in India, we are seeing an increasing trend of pet parents looking for the best nutrition and care for their little companions. Also, there are still so many homeless kittens out there. MARS Petcare understands this and, through our brand, Whiskas, wants to champion the cause of cat adoption.”

Vivek Jain, COO – MX Player, said: “MX Player is committed to providing brands and advertisers custom-made solutions that drive multiple objectives – be it furthering reach, tapping into new and emerging audience bases or providing seamless brand integration opportunities. At the heart of this ad film is great storytelling, which we believe makes for impactful branded content. It is sure to strike a chord with viewers.” 

About MARS Petcare

Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates across 50+ countries in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world’s pets – including brands PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, ROYAL CANIN®, NUTRO™, GREENIES™, SHEBA®, CESAR®, IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™ as well as the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of over 2,000 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™, Linnaeus, AniCura and Antech. We’re also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND™ programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in – and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.


About MX Player 

MX Player is an entertainment super app that caters to over 200 million Monthly Active users in India, integrating all forms of entertainment on one platform – including video playback, streaming video, music and gaming. Defining “everytainment” for viewers with entertainment that suits every mood, it currently operates on an ad supported model and hosts a wide library of over 2,00,000 hrs of premium content across 10 languages, including a critically acclaimed slate of MX Original/ Exclusives, movies, web series, TV shows, news and audio music. The app is available across Android, iOS, Web, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Android TV and OnePlus TV amongst others.

Having launched its gaming feature in February 2020, Games on MX Player has grown exponentially with 25m Monthly Active Gaming Users and this tournament style slew of hyper casual mobile games is now available across its Android and iOS apps.

From the stable of Times Internet (the digital venture of Times of India, India's largest media and entertainment group), MX Player has now spread its footprints across 12 markets including UAE, US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Srilanka, Maldives, and Bhutan.  MX has further expanded its business with the launch of its short format video app MX TakaTak - a home-grown platform that offers a wide variety of short-form content and creation tools across genres that is home to the largest number of 6Mn+ digital influencers as well as MX ShareKaro that is an easy-to-use file sharing app with rapid transfer speed.

No comments:

Post a Comment