You probably saw our post measuring the top 2020 Holiday Ads. And we KNOW some of you thought we were skipping a biiiitttt too fast over halloween and thanksgiving . . .
Turns out - you are right! Halloween is for ads too. At least according to cat treat brand Temptations.
Temptations Brand created a couple :15 seconds spots to celebrate the other big holiday with a major creep factor. Temptations introduces "Tasty Human" treats for your cat. Don't worry - it's all (mostly) chicken. But the ad and the packaging cleverly play up the trope to frighten humans into getting a treat instead of a trick for their cat this halloween.
Digging into the insight behind this ad, as Ad Week put it, this spot "plays on some pet owners’ most irrational fear: that their cat might try to eat them."
And in this Ad Age article, VP of Marketing at Mars Petcare, Craig Neely noted: "Knowing that our cats share some DNA with lions and tigers makes those creepy cat stares a little more ominous, and that's what inspired us to create this new product."
The product is fun and the commercial great for halloween. Temptations' thematic is enticing, their creative is compelling . . . but let's see if they were able to drive Immersion.
TASTY HUMAN: 15-SEC SPOT:
FULL IMMERSION MEASUREMENT HERE
Looking at the scores - measurement showed an above average state of immersion for almost the entirety of the commercial (average for this content is 44. Anything above that is positive.)
The short spot immersed the audience from the beginning and held that state throughout - increasing the odds that the gimmick will be a memorable traffic-driver for this limited-time product.
This isn't the fur-st time (sorry - had to) Temptations has brought our cats into Halloween! And, looking back to measure their four-minute mini-cat-centered horror film of 2020 - we can see this short spot is an improvement.
2020 SCAREDY CAT 4-MIN SPOT:
FULL IMMERSION MEASUREMENT HERE
Overall - this spot didn't leave a lasting impression on the audience, with lower than average immersion scores throughout. The audience seemed to check out during the "human" haunted scenes.
The big win? Humans were immersed in the haunted scenes that scared the CAT!
Maybe it was the humor of the classic cat / cucumber debacle, but immersion peaked in this moment, leaving the audience with slightly above-average scores that indicate they will remember this moment in the ad.
Another win? The logo at the top of the ad was during the highest immersion scores of the entire four-minutes. Great planning to ensure a lasting message to drive action with the audience.