And so to Black Friday (well, it would be rude not to) for a new campaign by animal welfare charity Mayhew (no, we hadn’t heard of them either but we have now) which is tapping into the pre-Christmas event to launch a new tactical poster campaign, dubbed #BlackCatFriday.
Now, of course, we do love a furry friend here at the Decision Marketing Nerve Centre and it just so happens that so do online audiences. In fact, it has even been claimed that cats drive about 15% of all online traffic, meaning that 699 million people are at some point searching for cats and/or cat-related content every month.
So, in a win-win for Mayhew, and hopefully our audience figures, too, we are keen to show how the charity is aiming to shine a light on the number of black cats and kittens who are currently in need of a home, backed by research which found that black cats take twice as long to be adopted.
Launching today, the OOH campaign has been devised by Havas London and features a number of black cats and kittens, showing in a fun and tongue-in-cheek way how they are a better investment than a flatscreen TV or new iPhone, as the public hunts for deals in the Black Friday sales.
Running across several poster sites in London, including Caledonian Road, Queens Park and White City, the OOH includes “witty” copy which relays the campaign’s sentiment including: “Guaranteed 3x more entertainment than any 62’ plasma”, with outdoor media gifted by LondonLites. The activity will also run in the Metro newspaper.
Mayhew chief executive Elvira Meucci-Lyons said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with Havas London on such a visually exciting campaign, and on such a monumental day in the advertising calendar! We really hope it will make people stop and think about whether they can open their home to a black cat in need.
“There are many theories as to why black cats take longer to be adopted; from superstitious reasons, to being considered unlucky or even being viewed as less photogenic than other cats. What is clear is that these wonderful creatures are just as deserving of a loving home as any other animal.”
Havas London associate creative director Amy Fasey added: “It’s been a pleasure to work with the team at Mayhew to bring this project to life. We think they’re amazing for all their vital work in animal welfare across London and the rest of the world.
“Every animal deserves a loving home, and black cats are often wrongly ignored because they’re ‘not as good for a selfie’.
“Hopefully this Black Friday, people will consider forgetting the new tech for a new furry friend in their lives instead. We’re big animal lovers here at Havas, I myself grew up with a black cat called Bubbles who was a right character… she made us all laugh more than any TikTok could do.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, as regular readers of this Creative Review section will know, our office moggy “Lyla” is indeed a black cat who can only be described as a “strong willed, stroppy moggy”. Not to put you off from adopting one, of course, but we have yet to find anyone who actually likes her, let alone who would offer to rehome her. More’s the pity.
In fact, you are more likely to get scratched and bitten to death if you go anywhere near her rather than a cuddle.
Still, naturally, as this campaign stresses, there are no doubt thousands of other black cats who are loving, photogenic and wonderful, and deserve a new home; whether they are more attractive than a giant TV, however, we wouldn’t like to say.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘chirping’ 8 out of 10
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