AdMiration feature: Ollie’s “Feed The Obsession: Mom Mode”

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Ollie’s “Feed The Obsession: Mom Mode” ad, part of their national brand campaign that celebrates the joyful, devoted bond between dog owners and their pets.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

Kicking off to Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” the ad opens to a woman looking through outfits hung up in a closet labeled “Billy Willy.” As she turns to hold one up, it becomes clear that they are outfits for her dog named Billy Willy, who she looks to see if he approves of the day’s choice. 

The scene shifts to the woman opening a box of Ollie’s meals and stocking her fridge with them, as Billy Willy watches. As she adds the final one with a light tap, you see her label maker machine in action and everything she’s labeled for her Billy Willy — from accessories in drawers to collars to leases to bowls and more — including which of his Ollie meals are for breakfast. 

As she fills up a bowl with Ollie food, a voiceover comes in to say, “We know you’re obsessed with them. So we obsess over fresh, healthy meals made just for them.” 

The ad closes with Billy Willy lovingly licking his dog mom’s face as the words “Feed The Obsession” and the Ollie logo appear on screen. 

3 facts

• This is a strong ad that lands in the top 1% of ads to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 99) and the top 10% for its ability to drive brand equity over the long term (Brand Impact: 91).

• The spot resonates well with viewers and makes them feel that Ollie delivers what they need from a pet food brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.4 vs. 4.1 norm), with respondents sharing their biggest like about the ad was how it made them feel.

• The ad had a significant effect on viewers’ purchase intent, meaning viewers were more likely to consider the brand the next time they are buying pet food (Purchase Uplift: 53% vs. 22% norm) — jumping from 7% to an incredible 60% of viewers after watching the ad.  

2 learnings

• Music can not only set the tone but also help land the key message. In this case, the music was a key factor for the spot, both kicking off the ad and taking up the majority of the sound bites, with the only words that are spoken occurring within the last few seconds! This song choice from Ollie did an excellent job at cuing the overall message that they know people are obsessed with their dogs in a light, catchy way, landing a higher than average musical appeal score (Musical appeal: 4.4 vs. 3.8).

• How animals are used can create greater emotional engagement. Animals generally increase emotional engagement with ads, and in a category like pet food, the use of animals is standard, putting all brands in an even playing field. In this case, the relationship between the lady and her dog was what really resonated and won the show. Ollie did an excellent job at finding a unique way to highlight pets by making Billy Willy the star of the house and telling a story that most pet owners fully connect with and understand — helping them stand out in their category. As one respondent shared, “I loved the way the dog was happy and healthy since it was well fed. I also liked the brand since it assures strong, happy and healthy pets.”

1 reflection

Is there a true consumer insight you could tap into to drive growth for your brand? One that makes you stand out and makes sense for your category? 

Ollie’s spot highlights a truth that most pet owners can heartily agree with: they’re absolutely obsessed with their pets.  

From the labeled outfit hangers to collars to the section of the refrigerator, the ad doesn’t even need to use words to describe what’s happening in the ad for viewers to relate — it’s just a clear human truth for pet owners. 

But on top of identifying that insight, Ollie does an excellent job tying it back to their brand in a credible and distinctive way — showing that their product is what the pet-obsessed reach for to feed their fur babies — an excellent way to drive emotional engagement as well as purchase intent for the brand. As some even shared: “I liked that the ad connects with how obsessed people are about their dogs. The ad was fun and unique” and "I like the look of the ad, almost making it like the pet is a kid of hers to be treated as such... The whole ad was nice to watch and kept my interest and made me smile."

“Feed The Obsession” is Ollie’s new brand platform and largest national brand campaign to date, which celebrates the devotion dog parents have for their dogs by feeding them Ollie’s highest quality meals.

The campaign was directed by Josefine Cardoni and created in partnership with creative agency nice&frank.

The campaign draws on survey data showing that 89% of American dog owners consider their dog their best friend, with 68% saying they would give up five years of their own life to extend their dog's life by the same amount.

Each of the ads in the campaign are set to Kylie Minogue’s iconic track “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” which joyfully conveys the obsessive bond between dog parents and their pups.

Allison Stadd, CMO of Ollie, shares, “At Ollie, obsession isn’t a flaw — it’s our driving force. Our veterinarians, engineers, in-house chef, and the rest of our deeply dog-obsessed team use science and technology to build a truly tailored experience, all in service of the one thing that matters most: your dog’s wellbeing. Feed the Obsession puts a flag in the ground. It celebrates the people who read ingredient lists, track poop quality, and reorganize their lives around a dog they love like family, and shows how Ollie fits right into that level of care.”

The campaign will run across streaming platforms as well as broadcast networks like HGTV, The Food Network, NBC and ESPN.

Ollie delivered a highly relatable spot for pet owners, landing the top 1% of ads in potential to drive short-term sales and top 10% in potential to drive brand equity over the longer term (Sales Impact: 99, Brand Impact: 91).

Addressing a true consumer insight about how pet owners feel about their pets makes the ad really stand out, making for a very distinctive ad that allows it to drive great reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm, Claimed Attention: 4.3 vs. 3.9, Brand Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.7).

Their unique approach allows the Ollie brand to be easily remembered in the ad (Unaided Brand Recall: 80% vs. 70% norm) and effectively conveys new information about the brand (New Information: 4.2 vs. 3.7 norm). 

And it allows their message to land clearly, with some describing it as: “Ollie is the right food for pets that we really love and are obsessed with,” “Ollie creates fresh and healthy meals for your pets” and “Healthy, fresh dog food made for pets.” 

What’s more, consumers most often associated the ad with Healthy (61%), Good for my pet (58%), premium (55%) and food their pet will like the taste of (53%) — just what a newer brand in the category would hope to see. 

Many of these positive attributes go hand-in-hand with how positive the ad makes viewers feel. People really enjoy the ad (Enjoyment: 4.4 vs. 3.9 norm), with many finding it relevant (Relevance: 4.1 vs. 3.7 norm) and extremely emotive (Overall Emotion: 78 vs. 57 norm). And, after watching the ad, they also believe that Ollie delivers what is needed from a pet food brand (Brand Meets Needs: 4.4 vs. 4.1 norm).

And the ad makes people feel something, with people feeling a strong sense of love having watched the ad (Love: 55% vs. 27%)!

Love is truly the dominant emotion from start to finish in this ad, with the highest peaks all involving the dog (of course!). There’s also some laughter and surprise throughout as viewers see just how obsessed the woman is with her dog, but love stays dominant. The most love comes at the end when we see the dog eating from his bowl and then licking his owner while the voiceover says “We know you’re obsessed with them, so we obsess over fresh, healthy meals made just for them.” What’s great for Ollie is that this peak not only comes from seeing the dog, but how the product is full of healthy ingredients in combination with the relationship shown between the owner and their beloved Billy Willy.

Diving deeper into what people liked, respondents listed the ad’s emotional appeal or how it made them feel as the strongest driver (24%), followed by appreciation for the people/characters (13%), the health aspects of the product (7%) and the music (5%) (Musical Appeal: 4.4 vs. 3.8 norm).

Here’s what some people had to say: 

• "I liked that the ad connects with how obsessed people are about their dogs. The ad was fun and unique. The food looks very delicious and appealing."

• "I loved the way the dog was happy and healthy since it was well fed. I also liked the brand since it assures strong, happy and healthy pets."

• "Owner has great regard for her pet. I liked the little french bulldog."

• "Loved the woman spoiling her pooch, loved the background music."

• "I liked the music and how she treated her pet."

• "I like the look of the ad, almost making it like the pet is a kid of hers to be treated as such. The music was good and upbeat and kept my interest. The whole ad was nice to watch and kept my interest and made me smile."

• "The dog is very cute and I like the song."

All of this ultimately led to an incredible increase in consideration for Ollie (Purchase Uplift: 53% vs. 22% norm). Ollie is a lesser known brand with a lot of headroom (Lower pre-exposure of 7%) and this ad certainly puts them on the map and makes a lot of pet owners want to consider Ollie next time they are buying pet food, with an incredible post-exposure of 60%!

What a great spot from Ollie that all pet owners could relate to. What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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