Pedigree To Promote Pet Adoption In Super Bowl XLIII Commercial

The initial Super Bowl ad from Mars' Pedigree dog food, which will be part of NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XLIII, "will be pushing a cause: pet adoption," according to Suzanne Vranica of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The 30-second ad, via Omnicom Group's TBWA/Chiat/Day, "will show what life would be like if the world didn't have dogs." A "string of crazy pets is expected to appear, including an ostrich giving a mailman a hard time." Though the ad "won't show dog food, it will feature the Pedigree brand name." The company said that the approach "is the way to go." Pedigree Dir of Marketing John Anton: "It's the right message to send out at this time." But Vranica notes the strategy of promoting a cause "could fall short." Pedigree "didn't disclose what it is paying for the spot, but ad time during the big game isn't cheap," with spots going for up to $3M for 30 seconds. Pedigree last year "held 6.8% of the market in the U.S." (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/22).