BRING YOUR PET BACK - FORTUNE CAT

TitleBRING YOUR PET BACK - FORTUNE CAT
BrandHILL’S PET NUTRITION ASIA LTD.
Product / ServiceSCIENCE DIET PERFECT WEIGHT
CategoryD02. Point of Sales, Consumer Touchpoints & In-store Collateral
EntrantRED FUSE COMMUNICATIONS Hong Kong, HONG KONG
Idea Creation RED FUSE COMMUNICATIONS Hong Kong, HONG KONG
Media Placement RED FUSE COMMUNICATIONS Hong Kong, HONG KONG
Production RED FUSE COMMUNICATIONS Hong Kong, HONG KONG

Credits

Name Company Position
Shen Guan Tan Red Fuse Communications HK Global Chief Creative Officier, Chairman Asia
Joshua Tay Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Creative Director
Craig Love Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Creative Director
Kelvin Kwan Red Fuse Communications HK Asso. Creative Director
Christel Chong Red Fuse Communications HK Senior Art Director
Kit Yu Red Fuse Communications HK Senior Art Director
Kate Kopperman Red Fuse Communications HK Associate Strategy Director (Asia)
Steve Forcione Red Fuse Communications HK Global CEO
Adam Konowitz Red Fuse Communications NYC Global Managing Director (Hill's)
Caroline Slocombe Red Fuse Communications HK Managing Director
Doreen Chan Red Fuse Communications HK Director of Operations
Nicky Dominique Lee Red Fuse Communications HK Asso Regional Shopper Communications Director
Stephen Wong Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Senior Account Executive
Tim Lee Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Content Editor
Krush Ng Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Design & Production Manager
Naina Shewakramani Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Media Director
Matthew Chan Red Fuse Communications HK Regional Media Executive
Kirsten Ramsey Red Fuse Communications Kansas City Managing Director
Chun Lung Hui Red Fuse Communications HK Freelance - Prop Maker

The Campaign

The untapped media of Fortune Cats within the majority of shops across Asia was used to create a relevant message to pet owners. Fortune Cats are lucky charms/talismans that are believed to attract good luck and fortune for its owners in Asian cultures. Thus, it’s very common to find one on display in stores, restaurants and other businesses. To highlight the excess weight of a common pet, Hill’s transformed the highly identifiable Fortune Cat with a gigantic hippo – an animal commonly understood as obese. All the while, calling out the need to ‘Bring Your Cat Back’ to label the problem behind this transformation. The exaggerated metaphor creates a visual tension which draws the viewer to take a second look – the same action they need to do with their own pet.

Creative Execution

Leveraging on the high volume of Fortune Cats across stores, Hill's swapped out the Fortune Cats with hippos to help amplify the message to store-goers that their pet might be overweight. The sculpture was further supported by tactical outdoor and print to activate pet owners into taking charge of their pet’s health and weight. In order to make the idea come to life, this Fortune Cat placement in vet offices and pet shops was identified as a media opportunity to attract our audience in a situationally relevant context. The cat was fattened and transformed into a hippo to help pet owners see pet obesity. To retain the semblance of a Fortune Cat, this rendering kept all sensorial and tactile elements - from gold color, design, texture to the structural fiberglass form.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

This creative strategy to transform known pet forms into obese animals was central, from idea to execution, and ultimately impacted the media output. The Fortune Cat is used as a gentle reminder to take a second look at their own pets’ weight. The proliferation of Fortune Cats not only created valuable interaction with people but at the same time brought out Hill's brand mission of “to help enrich and lengthen the special relationship between people and their pets” to life.

Hill's believes every animal deserves the best care humanly possible, but unbeknownst to most owners their pet’s weight could be causing hidden and serious health issues. To champion the pet and get owners to take notice of something they aren’t yet aware, Hill's needed to create a brand appropriate spin on a serious situation. To target all pet owners with potentially obese pets, the approach needed to be impactful without launching anyone’s personal defense mechanisms. The positive connotations associated with a Fortune Cat allows Hill’s to illustrate the underlying obesity issue, while remaining light-hearted. The line ‘Bring Your Cat Back’ is a call to act that champions the importance for pet health and empowers the owner to change their pet’s life - because only healthy pets can be truly happy pets.