Don’t miss Brandweek, Adweek’s ultimate experience for marketers, September 11-14 in Miami. Connect with peers and gain insights and inspiration from top brand marketers and industry icons at Glossier, Coca-Cola, Taco Bell and more. Register.
People have very tight bonds with their pets, so much so that they don’t like leaving them alone, even for work or vacation.
A new campaign for pet sitting service Rover by independent agency Little Hands of Stone means to quell the nerves of pet owners and let them know they can leave their pets in the hands of their highly vetted and caring pet sitters.
“To My Hooman” utilizes playful animation and a charming song to let owners see the relationships pets have with Rover sitters from the pets’ point of view. In the hero spot, a child sings a song over hand-drawn animation in language the pet might use if they could sing. The fully animated national campaign is narrated by pets, telling their owners not to worry while they’re away because Rover sitters are giving the pets the most personalized care they deserve.
The spot states that humans (spelled “hooman,” the now-standard meme spelling in animal speak) often have to do human things, like go to work and go on vacation. When they do, Rover sitters and the Rover app are there to take over until the owner comes back. The app not only connects owners with a quality sitter, it lets the sitters send photo reminders from the pets, showing that they’re having a good time.
The perspective of the creative demonstrates how pets view their owners through their eyes and hearts, like seeing an owner’s legs as 12 feet long and making drooling a love language.
Based on pet owner feedback
In its research, Rover found that many pet parents prefer family and friends to watch their pet.
Rover gives pet owners another option, with pet sitters who are matched to their wards through the app. Since more people are adopting pets and making them a part of their families, Rover thought this was a good time to introduce the company to more pet parents.
“It’s not uncommon for pet parents in the Rover community to tell us that their dog or their cat loves their Rover sitter so much that they’re actually excited when they leave town,” Kate Jaffe, senior director of brand marketing at Rover, told Adweek. “Instead of feeling sad, they’re kind of happy because they get to see their extended family. This spot gave us a way of spotlighting the bond that also emerges between pets and their sitters.”