Nutrience pet food brand features abused pets in new marketing campaign

Pet food manufacturer Rolf C. Hagen Inc.’s Nutrience brand has launched a new Canadian marketing campaign, “Stop bad things happening to good pets,” featuring abused dogs and cats that is getting mixed reviews.
The new ad campaign launched in mid-June, seen in city transit shelters and on other vehicles citywide, features a scrawny, filthy kitten photographed in black and white, with the wording, “At last, a cat food with a life saving ingredient” and a call-to-action message to visit the brand’s website, nobadanything.com. The new ad campaign also features similar pictures of dogs as part of the “food with a life saving ingredient” pledge to spotlight abused pets and highlight the company’s pledge to donate pet food to local shelters.
“We’ve had both positive and negative feedback but that’s to be expected,” said Warren House, Canadian marketing manager with Rolf C. Hagen Inc. “A few people have written in to thank and congratulate us, and we’ve had people saying that the campaign is over-the-top. But that’s fine; at least people are noticing and that’s really the key thing.”
According to House: “It’s one of those things where the reality is harsh. We don’t want to overdramatize things, but if something [like pet abuse] is real, it’s worth showing and talking about. We’ve seen this through the Ontario SPCA and we work with them and get their approval on all these images.
“The main reasons we used stuffed animals in the clip instead of real animals is that it would have been just too dramatic. But people are smart enough to get it. In the end of the spot where one of the stuffed toys turns into a real dog, people know we’re talking about real animals. It also takes a few views to really puzzle the spot out, which we hope will make it more viral,” says House.
As part of the new marketing campaign, the brand’s website, nobadanything.com, encourages visitors to “make the pledge” and add their name to a list, join the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ online community and share news about the petfood with their friends via Facebook. If 5,000 people “make the pledge” by the campaign’s end in mid-September, Nutrience will donate US$500 worth of petfood to 10 Canadian animal shelters.
The marketing campaign also includes a contest for customers who purchase specially marked Nutrience bags to enter a pin number on the bag and be eligible to win a US$1,000 petfood donation to the animal rescue of their choice and a one year’s supply of food for their own pet. Consumers may also download a US$5-off coupon from the website and can receive a free bag of treats with qualifying purchase.
“You know, once consumers sign up for the pledge they’ll get the coupon, but there really is nothing in it for us more than just helping to spread the word about these amazing shelters… and the fact that this stuff goes on,” Eric Marquis, trade marketing operations manager for Rolf C. Hagen Inc., says. “We’re very hopeful people latch onto this and that they see the good in this.”

Animal advocate pledges to eat dog food until Nitro's Law is reintroduced in Ohio House

Animal advocate, dog trainer and author Nikki Moustaki has promised to eat dog food for one meal every day in an effort to gain awareness for and the passage of an anti-animal cruelty bill called Nitro's Law.
The Ohio-based law, formerly known as House Bill 70, would increase the penalty to a fifth degree felony for egregious acts of animal cruelty by the animal's caretaker, punishable by a year in jail per count. The bill is named after Nitro, a Rottweiler who was left in the care of High Caliber K-9 boarding kennel in October 2008. His human family came back to find seven dead and 12 starving dogs at the facility. The facility owner, Steve Croley, was sentenced to four months in jail and a fine after four misdemeanor charges were pursued. He also had his American Kennel Club privileges revoked for 10 years, and the AKC fined him $2,000.
"This isn't just a local issue, it's a national issue," said Moustaki. "This didn't happen in my home state, but as someone who speaks up for animals, I consider them all in my backyard. Animals don't vote, but their owners do. If this can happen in Ohio, it can happen anywhere, and it's important for people to be aware of the laws in their state."
Moustaki said she hopes to get pet lovers from all 50 states involved in her campaign, which includes eating on-camera and posting the videos on YouTube. "Ideally, other dog owners will join in on this with me," said Moustaki. "If we can create a movement, no matter how 'doggone crazy' eating dog food might seem, we might be able to make a positive change."

PETA protests PetSmart over animal mistreatment

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protested PetSmart amid mistreatment allegations, according to an online article from Bostonist.
PETA protested June 16 outside of PetSmart's annual meeting in Boston. The animal rights group accused a PetSmart supplier. Sun Pet Ltd., and a former supplier, U.S. Global Exotics, of animal mistreatment. These allegations are detailed on PETA's PetSmart website, which accuses the company of starving animals to death and shipping them with improper supplies.

Proposed California petfood tax to fund animal abuser registration

The Animal Legal Defense Fund and Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez recently proposed legislation that would require California law enforcement to begin formally registering people convicted of animal cruelty or abuse.
Anyone convicted of a felony involving animal cruelty would be required to provide detailed personal information and a photograph to be posted online, according to The Monterey County Herald.
The funding for the proposed program is to come from a 2-3 cent tax on petfood, according to KFSN-TV.