Top Cats
The Meow Mix Co. is heading back to TV, this time in its very own spoof reality show highlighting cats (of course) as the stars.
In a take on popular reality shows like The Real World, Survivor and Big Brother, the Meow Mix House will pair 10 cats from shelters across the country to live together in a custom-designed New York house. The task? Cats must claw their way to the grand prize — a top job at the Meow Mix Co.
“Dogs get all attention,” Meow Mix CEO Richard Thompson says. “Our deal is to ring the bell for the cats.”
Meow Mix is setting up the temporary home on Fifth Avenue to film the world’s first-ever cat reality show. Viewers can capture the cats’ antics 24 hours a day by viewing Web cams at MeowMixHouse.com. The site, which launches in June, will contain contestant bios and product information. Pop-up dialogue bubbles scripted by comedy writers, will help “translate” cats’ thoughts. Grand Central Marketing, New York City, handles.
And starting June 6, consumers can vote for their favorite feline online or submit a ballot at the Meow Mix House. Each day for 10 days, the feline with the fewest votes will be sent packing to its new home (think The Apprentice) escorted by the iconic Meow Mix mobile. Meow Mix prearranged each cat’s adoption from their home cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia and Portland, OR).
The last cat standing will get a job at the Meow Mix Co., Secaucus, NJ, to taste-test the company’s new products as its “feline VP of research and development.” As a consolation prize, all other “contestants” will receive a year’s supply of Meow Mix cat food.
The stunt “kind of takes reality shows to the limit,” Grand Central Marketing CEO Matthew Glass says. “There’s so much reality TV out there, it was right for being spoofed.”
And when it comes to cats, anything is possible. “Cats have distinct personalities,” Glass adds. “We’re going to have fun with that.”
The goal, in part, was to get “cats out of their cages and into loving homes,” Thompson says. “It’s important to be on the leading edge and be an innovator in any industry. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re keeping the brand fresh and fun.”
Meow Mix will use the show to promote its Market Select products, a new line of wet food in plastic cups via product placement. The company will feed contestants vying for the top spot Meow Mix dry cat food and wet food products. Consumers who visit the Meow Mix House will receive samples of the Market Select products. Members of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local animal shelters will distribute adoption information at the house.
The Meow Mix House, scheduled to air on cable network in June, will be billed as a 30-minute episode or be split into 10 two to three-minute segments. Radio spots, e-mail invites, online materials and street teams will support.
The reality show follows the company’s popular Meow Mix Café, a temporary store that opened last year in Manhattan for cats and their owners. Grand Central Marketing handled. In 2003, Meow Mix had its TV debut with Meow TV, a 30-minute program celebrating cats and their loyal owners on the Oxygen Network.
In creating the promotion, the agency set out to launch a promotion that captures the brand’s essence — having fun and being playful, Glass says.
While Glass can’t guarantee whether the new feline housemates will get along, the promotion has some guarantees.
“It’s not the same old thing,” he says. “It gets people talking.”
