Petco knows everything about pets, except why they’re so weird, in new Slap campaign

It’s hard to position yourself as an expert without looking boastful. Petco finds an entertaining way around this in new ads from Slap Global, in which it acknowledges it will never fully understand animals—but is second to none in caring for them anyway. Three TV spots and related social posts focus on our furry friends’ strange behaviors, which will be relatable to any pet owners watching. “Some things we don’t know,” the voiceover admits. “Everything else, we do.” Dan Opsal at Hungry Man directed the spots. Inspiration for the “Midnight Snack” spot came from Slap co-founder Gerry Graf’s own experience with his cat Leo, who was “hiding behind yogurt-covered pretzels one night and scared the shit out of him,” the agency said. “The campaign was a blast to make because it often consisted of us sharing our crazy pet stories and then presenting them as concepts,” said Lyndsey Corona, Slap’s president. “Truth is, everyone with a pet knows they have weird, unexplainable behavior sometimes, and that’s what makes this work so relatable.” Graf’s dog Sadie’s habit of staring at a wall for 30 minutes at a time for no reason did not make the cut for the campaign (though it probably would have made a decent longform spot). Corona’s aunt’s crazy bird—who likes to play with keys—will appear in a forthcoming spot. Slap began working with Petco this year. The campaign launches this week across TV, OLV and social. See a couple of the social videos below. Popular Creativity stories from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Petco knows everything about pets, except why they’re so weird, in new Slap campaign

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