• by Aaron Baar , January 26, 2011

Purina Dog Chow is turning the schoolyard idiom of a "double dog dare" into a marketing cry via a promotional contest through which consumers can "dare" the brand to do something worthwhile.

To help promote its reformulated dog food and the contest, Purina has enlisted country music-playing siblings "The Band Perry" -- and their dogs -- to be the face of the campaign. In addition to leveraging the band's popularity, the company will use significant public relations efforts to promote the contest.

"[We're] currently daring dog owners to try our ... dog food formula risk-free," company representative Jadea Abolahrari tells Marketing Daily, in response to e-mailed questions. "In return, we felt it was only fitting to provide consumers with the chance to out-do us with a double dog dare of their own."

The contest, which launched Tuesday and will run through February, uses the company's Web site, www.longliveyourdog.com, as a place to enter a challenge for the brand (suggestions on the site include organizing a dog walk across New York's Brooklyn Bridge or having the brand donate 3,000 bags of food to a shelter). The company will execute three of these dares (one per month) during March, April and May. (The consumers who suggested the dares will each win $5,000 and a year's supply of dog food. The company will also supply two years' worth of dog food to feed one dog in an animal shelter in each of the winners' communities.)

"[We're] trying to spread the word about our ... formula by connecting with dog owners in a fun, rascally way," Abolahrari says. "We are encouraging people to step outside the bag and dare us to do something different."