I and love and you "Family dinner" (2019) :30 (USA)

Some pet foods are really bad for pets because they are filled with ingredients that some pets are allergic to. This is the insight behind Fact & Fictions' new work for pet food client I and love and you. Pet owners often treat their pets like their family. (Dog mom, anyone?)

But the truth is, outside of places like here in L.A. where dogs have their own strollers and can stroll into Whole Foods even when they aren't service animals, the rest of the country isn't as pet obsessed. Often, pet owners don't even take the time to read the ingredients list.

Rather than go the familiar route by focusing on the pets, this spot takes a sharp turn by focusing on the real-life kids in the household.  "You wouldn't serve your kids food that makes them itch. So don't feed it to them." So reads the headline. And reads the voiceover. Clients: please do one or the other. Not both. I don't care what your research says. Consumers aren't as dumb as you assume. And whatever research someone handed you that doing both somehow "reinforces the message," that research comes at the expense of insulting your audience's intelligence. It's as bad as repeating the phone number three times in a row in succession. 

I digress. I like the art direction in this. Love how they show the benefits at the end. I'm surprised you didn't have the voice over guy read them, you know, just in case we're not smart enough to read it ourselves. I also have to say the sound design is delightfully creepy. It helps elevate the familiar "humorous negative" trope and on-the-nose music choice. But it's still eons away from the usual pet commercials.

The only thing that really hangs me up is that an actual pet is in the spot, and its a pet that isn't itching. Which is completely at odds with the insight. I guess they had to make a concession by showing a pet somewhere, but it felt superfluous. 

Credits:

Agency Fact & Fiction
Partner: Kyle Taylor
Partner: Luke Frydenger
Account Director: Travis Reeb
Creative Director: Rob Lewis
Creative Director: Brock Johnson
Exec. Producer: Christian Silberbaurer

Production
Director: Elizabeth Orne of The Famous Group
DP: Brian Lannin
Prod Designer: Susan Petersen
Producer / AD: Christian Silberbaurer
PM: Ellyn Church
Prod. Coordinator: Colin Stein
1st AC: Jacob Glazier
2nd AC / DIT: Boston Heath
Gaffer: Scott Clark
Key Grip: Bret Wortley
Sound: Jeff Knudsen
Wardrobe: Delphine Gennisson
HMU: Jamie Frasier
Location Mgr: Jeff Petersen