Meow Mix embraces ‘90s boy bands in latest spin on jingle

Dive Brief:

Cat food brand Meow Mix leveraged the boy band phenomenon of the ‘90s for the latest iteration of its long-running “Remix” campaign, according to information shared with Marketing Dive.
Creative featuring a “cat boy band” known as the Tabby 5 will include a TV spot airing during “America’s Got Talent.” Digital and social executions include a TikTok duet video during which NSYNC’s JC Chasez invites viewers to sing along with the band.
The J.M. Smucker Company brand first debuted its iconic theme in 1974 and has remixed it in a variety of different ways in recent years. The latest iteration uses rain and choreography, in addition to a cat boy band, to replicate a ‘90s-style music video and tap into nostalgia for the decade.

Dive Insight:

Like many other brands in recent months, Meow Mix has been integrating nostalgia for pop cultural artifacts of past decades into its marketing as a way to engage consumers. PSOne, a unit of Publicis dedicated to the J.M. Smucker Company, and BBH US worked on the campaign.

The thirty-second spot features a group of five cats wearing denim outfits singing “meow” over and over again to a ‘90s beat. Chasez makes a cameo and sings along before the cats make a costume change to white outfits. The short music video ends with the brand’s classic tagline, “the only cat food cats ask for by name.” A landing page dedicated to the campaign features a zodiac quiz for cats along with a profile of the Tabby 5.

“Our latest campaign honors Meow Mix’s storied heritage while also bringing new cultural relevancy to the brand,” said Gail Hollander, CMO of J.M. Smucker in a statement.

The campaign comes not only at a popular time for campaigns driven by popular music, with brands such as Malibu, Wendy’s and others recently re-purposing classic songs for advertising purposes — it also comes a pivotal time for Meow Mix. Earlier this year, J.M. Smucker completed its sales of a number of pet food brands and said it will increase its focus on driving growth for Meow Mix and Milk-Bone going forward. The pet food sector has seen increased competition in recent years, making a brand’s ability to stand out increasingly important.