Cat owners often wish their feline companions could just tell them what they need, especially regarding their health. Mars Petcare’s smart cat litter brand, PrettyLitter, is granting that wish in their clever new integrated ad campaign.
Titled “Not Just A Pretty Litter,” the campaign introduces a fresh, understated tone and a smart-mouthed cat to highlight PrettyLitter’s unique selling point: color-changing crystals that turn the litter box into a proactive health monitoring tool.
One of the campaign’s standout videos is “The Gift of Gab” :30. Running across CTV/YouTube and paid social, this ad perfectly embodies the brand’s goal of giving cats a “say in their litter choice.”
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response among cat owners to the spot.
The Details Among Cat Owners:
- PrettyLitter’s :30 “Gift of Gab” stood apart among recent pet care ads specifically featuring cat care, in overall response among cat owners (ranking first among pet care ads of the past year within this audience), with cat owners finding the spot particularly informative, Relevant, and effective in driving Desire:
- The ad sparked the highest intent of the campaign with two in three cat owners reporting positive consideration (vs an audience benchmark of 54% Top 2 Box).
- However, while the :30 “Littervention” did not land as positively as a creative, it was particularly persuasive, spurring 40% of all cat owners seeing the ad to be much more likely to consider PrettyLitter.
- Given the similar intent rates, however, there would be little risk in favoring either :30 spot vs the :60 in forward media rotations to optimize the budget and/or expand reach.
- Competitive ads saw somewhat lower intent rates with Arm & Hammer’s spot highlighting Hard Ball Litter while Fresh Step promised 30-day odor control.
- The ad sparked the highest intent of the campaign with two in three cat owners reporting positive consideration (vs an audience benchmark of 54% Top 2 Box).
- The :30 “Gift of Gab” blended information, humor, and a premium feel to engage viewers and drive intent:
- This spot outperformed category norms by a wide margin across every key metric and scored in the 97th percentile or higher among cat owners. The creative resonated strongly across all gender and age segments of cat owners, with the widespread appeal justifying a broad targeting strategy within the core audience.
- The key value proposition was clearly and effectively communicated, with the product itself and the brand identified as the most memorable elements for cat-owning viewers and at rates above the average pet care ad.
- Emotional response (Cinematic, Brandtastic, Prodtastic) suggests viewers perceived the ad’s high-quality feel and unique benefit information to reflect well on both the product and the brand as a whole. This response led not only to above-norm consumer intent (+13 pts among cat owners) but above-norm brand recall (+10 pts unaided) as well.
- This spot outperformed category norms by a wide margin across every key metric and scored in the 97th percentile or higher among cat owners. The creative resonated strongly across all gender and age segments of cat owners, with the widespread appeal justifying a broad targeting strategy within the core audience.
- Encouragingly, “The Gift of Gab” resonated at very positive levels among lapsed and current PrettyLitter users, as well as among the majority of cat owners who described themselves as considerers of the brand:
- Sentiment on this :30 spot reveals that for cat owners, the talking cat was a smart creative element, generating widespread delight and engagement while the color-changing health detection feature resonated strongly. This audience appreciated the innovative technology and practical benefits which helped differentiate PrettyLitter from traditional cat litters and provided a clear value proposition.
- Moreover, this spot communicated the product’s key benefits without being overly technical or boring, with cat owners appreciating the balance between information and engagement.
- Very limited concerns were expressed in comments on the ad, with questions about pricing/cost being most common (but still small).
- Sentiment on this :30 spot reveals that for cat owners, the talking cat was a smart creative element, generating widespread delight and engagement while the color-changing health detection feature resonated strongly. This audience appreciated the innovative technology and practical benefits which helped differentiate PrettyLitter from traditional cat litters and provided a clear value proposition.
Sample comments on “The Gift of Gab” :30 among cat owners
“I thought this was a really cute ad for the product that it was for. I have never seen anything like it and I would definitely try it out. It makes me want to try it.”
Female 21-35
“PrettyLitter is very good at detecting problems with your cat. The kids’ litter changes colors to specify exactly what is wrong with your cat.”
Female 50+
“Lol, too funny how you have the cat narrating the story. ‘Does this mean I pee rainbows,’ lmao I’m dead. Also like you used appropriate words.”
Male 21-35
“This is such a smart idea. To be able to clean your cat’s litter and get a good idea of their health.”
Female 50+
“The was informative and presented the brand very well. The humor aspect of a talking cat was a great fit and the ad did a great job showing the benefits of the brand.”
Male 50+
“I love how the litter can detect your pet’s health when it uses the litter. Also, I love how pretty and sparkly it is.”
Female 21-35
“The ad was funny and educational as well. I’m impressed and must say this is an innovative product which would help pet owners a whole lot.”
Male 21-35
“This looks like a very reliable product I would purchase.”
Male 36-49
- Across the broader gen pop audience, “The Gift of Gab” still stood out for the Information delivery on the unique product benefits (Change) of the brand, while also grabbing Attention with its Colorful and Memorable delivery:
Among All Viewers:
The overwhelming success of the “Gift of Gab” :30 proves that PrettyLitter’s combination of entertainment and education is a powerful formula.
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: Raindrop