Brand: Kibbles ‘n Bits (Del Monte)
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here
Target: Families with Dogs
Rating: ****
Reviewer: David

Description:
A German Shepherd stands in a bathroom, front paws up on the sink, looking into a mirror and gargling as a human would.  A pre-teen girl in pajamas approaches the bathroom door suspiciously.  We see the dog again, gargling and rinsing.  The girl opens the bathroom door.  “Duke?” she says incredulously.  The dog makes a Scooby Doo-like ‘hmmm?’ sound and turns its head towards her.  The spot cuts to a product shot of Kibbles ‘n Bits Brushing Bites and a voiceover says,    “There’s a better way to get rid of dog breath.  Introducing Kibbles ‘n Bits brushing bites.  It’s the only dog food with these special bits that cleans his teeth and freshens his breath.  New Kibbles ‘ n Bits Brushing Bites. More taste, more joy.”  The spot ends with the tagline “Kibbles ‘n Bits, Kibbles ‘n Bits,” as a dog pushes a bowl around with his nose, then licks the camera.

What Works:
This spot is an interesting rebuttal of the maxim, “traditional advertising is dead.”  It uses time tested (some would say time-worn) methods to produce a memorable, likeable spot.  In fact, IAG research rated this commercial as September 2006′s most-liked ad, with a favorability index of 156.

What works here?  The ad starts out with a simple attention-getter – a dog doing something that a human would normally do.  The old trick here is using animal actors, but it is somewhat more forgiveable for a pet food brand.  By anthropomorphizing the dog, Del Monte plays to one of our oldest curiosities: what sets us apart from our pets.

Next, there is a clear exposition of the problem the brand will solve (this is a simple problem-solution spot).  Dogs have bad breath and all pet owners know this.  Then we get both a solution and a very good product shot with the introduction of Kibbles ‘n Bits Brushing Bites.  There is also an end benefit shot of Duke licking the girl’s face later in the spot.  The tagline at the end is meant to reinforce the brand.

What Doesn’t:
This spot was the most-liked ad of September 2007 but it was not on the list of most-recalled commercials.  This points to the problem with using cute things like children and animals in advertising.  They tend to overwhelm the commercial message in our memory.  This advertising blog believes this spot works, but Kibbles ‘n Bits needs to try harder to create a unique hook between the cute animal, product benefit and the brand.

Connecting to this issue of recall is brand positioning that is category generic.  Kibble ‘n Bits may be introducing a new product, but ‘fresher breath’ is not an ownable benefit.  Del Monte is leaving the brand vulnerable to competitive poaching by promoting this valuable but generic benefit without creating distinctive user imagery or a stronger proprietary advantage.

Branding Bottom Line:
Can we put those Brushing Bites into breakfast cereal?