Open Farm has debuted its largest integrated brand campaign to date, titled “Pets Are Perfect. So, We Must Be Too.” Developed in partnership with indie agency Guesthouse, the international effort marks the company’s largest investment in brand building as it enters its next phase of growth. The campaign celebrates the small, everyday moments that define life with pets, while reinforcing Open Farm’s commitment to responsibly sourced ingredients, transparency, and exceptional nutrition—an emotional throughline meant to make the brand as memorable as the quality standards behind its food.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed in response to the spots among U.S. dog owners.
The Details:
- Each of Open Farm’s latest ads found positive (at- to above-norm) response vs other pet food ads over the past year among U.S. dog owners, with the best-received :30 spots also landing well with cat owners:
Among U.S. dog owners specifically:
- The new :30 “Sweet Girl” delivered a standout overall response, landing +63 pts above the pet food one-year norm among U.S. dog owners and outpacing every creative performance benchmark—this was a genuine breakthrough execution:
- “Sweet Girl’s” strongest creative features were delivering Information in a highly watchable way, placing in the top decile of pet food ads in both aspects. Its breakthrough ability (Attention and Likeability), Relevance/relatability, and creating Desire were also strengths – each landing above the 85th percentile.
- Dog owners of all ages responded positively to the ad, with resonance increasing as age decreased, pointing to the opportunity to favor younger pet owners to maximize outcomes, if desired.
- The message of the Healthy product communicated in a Wholesome way stood out as Single Best Things about the ad at above-benchmark rates for pet food, at 20% message (15% norm) and 19% product (16% norm) – accomplishing your key communication objective.
- Both emotionally connective, “Sweet Girl” didn’t just coast on cute-dog goodwill alone—it converted that warmth into intent to purchase or visit, with 72% of all U.S. dog owners expressing positive consideration (outpacing the category average by an impressive +12 pts). This could justify increased media spend.
- However, brand saliency trailed with just 53% recalling Open Farm on an unaided basis after a single view (well below the 70% pet food benchmark). 13% couldn’t recall a brand at all and 18% indicated it went by too quickly or they didn’t recognize it. Another 20% recalled something else (with some form of ‘farm’ and ‘dog food’ representing some of these responses). This is the most urgent opportunity to address via quick edits in the current spots, as well as ensuring enhanced branding is achieved in forward creatives. Increasing the size of the opening and closing logos (and opening audio branding) and considering continuous corner logos could assist. Of course, repeat viewings could also help here.
- “Sweet Girl’s” strongest creative features were delivering Information in a highly watchable way, placing in the top decile of pet food ads in both aspects. Its breakthrough ability (Attention and Likeability), Relevance/relatability, and creating Desire were also strengths – each landing above the 85th percentile.
- “Funny Bulldog” :15 posted a flat overall response—with no component reaching above normative performance. This spot represented the campaign’s weakest link:
- Purchase intent among dog owners viewing this ad landed within 2 pts of norm and also represented the floor of the six recent Open Farm spots we reviewed.
- Brand recall issues were exacerbated in this :15 as well.
- Purchase intent among dog owners viewing this ad landed within 2 pts of norm and also represented the floor of the six recent Open Farm spots we reviewed.
- Male dog owners were the better audience across both ads, but “Funny Bulldog” struggled a bit to connect with females:
- Both communicated the Healthy nature of your products and connected emotionally, and viewer sentiment on “Sweet Girl” underscored the success at building emotional engagement. However, brand recall and message clarity issues prevented it from achieving maximum effectiveness.
- As intended, the health-conscious pet owner segment was highly engaged and dog owners deeply identified with the lifecycle journey of their pets. This emotional authenticity, as well as emphasizing the pet as an integral part of the family (Wholesome signal) drove brand consideration.
- However, the portrayal of the aging dog, while emotionally effective, created confusion for some viewers about whether this is food for sick dogs, senior dogs specifically, or all life stages. This suggests an opportunity for adding clearer messaging that this food helps dogs thrive at every age, or showing moments of renewed energy.
- Both communicated the Healthy nature of your products and connected emotionally, and viewer sentiment on “Sweet Girl” underscored the success at building emotional engagement. However, brand recall and message clarity issues prevented it from achieving maximum effectiveness.
Sample comments among dog owners on the “Sweet Girl” :30
“I like good, clean ingredients especially for my dogs. And it was wholesome in how it portrayed the very sweet dog and wanting the best care for them. It makes me want to feed my dog better things.”
Female 18-35
“I like the thought of feeding your pet good quality natural pure ingredients for food.”
Male 18-35
“Very heartwarming and inspirational. I have never heard of this dog food, but I am curious.”
Female 50+
“Great looking dog. I thought it was sick though. Hardly any meaningful info about food though.”
Male 50+
“Open Farm is dog food that is traceable. You know you have the best food for your dog.”
Male 50+
“I like Open Farm. It looks health beneficial.”
Female 18-35
“It seems like this is a very wholesome company that cares about their products.”
Female 36-49
“I like how it showed the dog being part of the family and how the brand takes care of the dog. I kind of wish it showed the brand a bit more because it was my first time hearing about this brand of dog food and I can’t remember what it is because it was barely shown on the ads. I like the heartfelt emotions though.”
Male 18-35
“I thought the dog was on his death bed.”
Female 18-35
“I liked its message. I would try Open Farm for my elderly dog.”
Male 50+
“Open Farm is a great brand for dog food.”
Male 18-35
“I loved it. And as a dog owner, I can definitely relate. The message was strong and the visuals added a lot.”
Male 36-49
“Made me think of my current aging dog and past dog that passed while growing up over the years. It pulls at a sweet spot in my heart.”
Female 18-35
“I can feel the love for the dog, having been in that position a few times.”
Female 50+
- Response to the Open Farm ads was generally consistent regardless of what food was recently purchased, with “Sweet Girl” :30 appealing across users of all other competitive brands/types:
- The :15 “Funny Bulldog” did enjoy a positive audience among users of fresh dog food as well as Hill’s Science dog food.
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Guesthouse