Pet Food Ad That Only Dogs Can Hear (Video)

Would you buy a brand of dog food if your pup showed interest in the product or the commercial advertising it? Nestle, one of the world’s largest pet food manufacturers is taking a chance you will buy their product, with a specially designed television commercial that only dogs can hear.

Using a high-frequency tone to grab the attention of dogs, the Nestle Purina PetCare Company is taking consumerism to a new level.

The 23-second ad, which airs on Austrian television this week for Beneful dog food, features several high-pitched whistles and pings that can barely be heard by human ears, but sound like a whistle or a fun squeak toy to a dog.

“We wanted to create a TV commercial that our four-legged friends can enjoy and listen to, but also allow the owner and dog to experience it together, said Nestlé Purina’s Anna Rabanus in a press release.

“The television commercial aims to reach both the pet and the owner, supporting the special one-to-one relationship between them,” said Xavier Perez, Brand Manager of Beneful for Europe.

Animal behaviorists in the United States conducted the research for the project and fine-tuned the specific sounds that would get a dog to sit in front of a television screen.

“Dogs’ hearing is twice as sharp as humans. They can pick up frequencies which are beyond our range and they are better at differentiating sounds,” said Georg Sanders, a nutrition expert with Nestle in Germany.

The commercial follows a campaign by Wagg Foods in the UK that produced dog food scented billboards in 2010 and an award-winning program in Germany that featured “sniffable” posters for dogs.

The video is in German, but it shows where the whistles and pings have been added.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sheri P.

9:21PM PDT on Oct 20, 2011

NO WAY to Nestle...

send a green star

Heather O.

10:27AM PDT on Oct 9, 2011

I tried with my rescue dogs and they didn't even look up from their couch. Maybe mine are just lazy.

Carrie Anne B.

5:45AM PDT on Oct 7, 2011

thanks for sharing

Celinda V.

9:50AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

I played this for my dogs and they were not impressed.... I wouldn't buy nestle anyways.

Katherine W.

9:35AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

If Nestle does animal testing then this is a no brainer........NO

Tami M.

8:23AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

NEVER BUY NESTLE!

MIDORI F.

8:13AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

Never buy it. Not only testing on animals, but also commercial food which means they are made from bad ingredients.

Ricardo P.

7:52AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

Nestlé is disgusting for many reasons, one of which is that they test on animals, so whatever marketing strategies they come up with to make people believe they care for animals will only add to my disgust for them.

Tucker T.

7:48AM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

FYI, NESTLE TESTS ON ANIMALS!!

I WON'T BUY ANYTHING TO DO WITH NESTLES!!

Marie W.

11:56PM PDT on Oct 4, 2011

Out of control!