The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Northlich The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Northlich
Showing posts with label Northlich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northlich. Show all posts

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Scooter, the Neutered Cat Says ‘It’s Hip to Be Snipped


There’s a cool new cat in Cincinnati – hitting the airwaves, movie theaters, billboards and the Net. His name is Scooter, the neutered cat.

Rocking aviator sunglasses, a turtleneck sweater and an irreverent sense of humor, Scooter is the star of a $2 million media blitz aimed at persuading Cincinnatians their kitties will stay cool cats if they’re spayed or neutered.

Scooter is the creation of Cincinnati-based marketing and advertising agency Northlich. The agency’s funny, urban hipster pitches his message in a radically different way than the typical tear-jerker approach employed in talking to animal lovers. Northlich’s creative team wanted to evoke 1970s movies like “Shaft” or TV’s “Starsky & Hutch.”

Giving Scooter a macho attitude is no accident. Northlich’s research revealed that a lot of pet owners hesitate to get their cats fixed over concerns it will change their pets’ personalities. Scooter billboards say it’s “hip to be snipped.”

“Some owners worry their cat will feel less manly or lose their sexual identity if they get neutered – the Scooter approach turns that idea on its head,” said Terry Dillon, a senior copywriter at Northlich.

Laura Gels, senior art director at Northlich, said the 1970s vibe also appeals to viewers’ pop culture memories.

“People remember those, and it automatically makes Scooter more approachable,” Gels said.

Other barriers for pet owners are cost and location. The campaign directs pet owners to a website that lists affordable spay and neuter services by location.

The campaign is funded by the Joanie Bernard Foundation that wants to stop the 1.4 million cats being put down each year due to the overpopulation of strays. There are 70 million stray cats in the U.S. – compared with 73 million that have homes.

Deborah Cribbs, chair of the foundation, said she was open to a new type of campaign. Several meetings at Northlich ended with hysterical laughter. The campaign, which launched April 28, is called “Ten” – a play on extending cats’ mythical nine lives. Ads also are being aired in Indianapolis.

“We wanted to be a little more in your face to get noticed,” she said. “We wanted something edgy and irreverent – but factual.”

One unsettling set of facts: The average female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in seven years. A female cat can get pregnant as young as six months and two weeks after giving birth to a litter.

In one ad that’s been viewed on YouTube 35,000 times, Scooter struts from his home in the city to the soundtrack of the jingle: “Other cats make babies, with him there’s no yes or maybe – Who’s your Daddy? Not me.”

The ad ends with Scooter comfortably perching on the hood of a vintage Cadillac. A voiceover tells viewers to go to GiveThemTen.org for a listing of low-cost spay and neuter services.

Early results of the social media campaign are encouraging.

So many owners promised to get their pets spayed or neutered and retweet the “Ten” message, that a free T-shirt offer was quickly overwhelmed.

The campaign is ordering new T-shirts after running out of its first batch.

Website: http://www.givethemten.org/frisk-and-fun/meet-scooter.html








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