• by August 16, 2007

Those frisky marketers at Del Monte's Meow Mix are at it again. It all started, we think, with "Meow TV," the first TV show specifically targeted to the elusive feline demographic, which ran on Oxygen in 2003. Next up was the "Meow Mix Café," plunked down right in midtown Manhattan two years ago to reach the highly desired urban cat. Then last year, 10 lucky cats got to participate in the Animal Planet reality TV series, "Meow Mix House ," with the lucky winner not voted out of the Big Brother-like group living arrangement promised a stint as the brand's "feline vice president of research and development."

We can't find any record of which cat won that contest, but he or she was apparently put in charge of redeveloping the brand's Web presence. How else to explain the new Meow Mix site being so finely crafted from the feline point of view?

OK, there is another explanation, or at least one offered by the clever folks at Omnicom's Agency.com, who claim to be the true force behind the new site -- and that they designed it so that visitors could "think like a cat." But just how would they know how a cat thinks without the input of their client's four-legged R&D exec?

Instead, the press release quotes Bill Maclean, Meow Mix's senior brand manager: "The new website speaks to our target audience who are passionate about their pets and want the best for their cat. The Meow Mix brand aims to give them a deeper understanding and connection with what their cat wants, in a fun and engaging way."

Well, the cats in my house basically want food, water and a litter box, yet only one of these three needs (surprise!) gets substantial play on the Meow Mix site. And our cats are certainly fun and engaging, but far less so than the array of video cats who inhabit the latest incarnation of "Meow Mix House" on the brand's new home page.

The "Meow Mix House" cats (nine at last count; they tend to hide in unlikely places) virtually take over an entire living room on the page, where they perform various tasks (playing with a ball of yarn, swatting at a fish and, of course, eating Meow Mix) when your mouse rolls over them. They also express individual insights on various subjects and provide links to further interaction via thought balloons (i.e., "I'm bored with string. Let's Play Hairball Invaders. C'mon. Let's Play Now," which, when clicked, takes you to the site's recreation section, which includes games and downloads.

Other sections on the site include "Cat Facts," spanning such areas as physiology, diet, behavior and mythology, and "The Meow Mix Acatemy," billed as "the world's first school dedicated to fostering greater understanding between cats and their humans." There's also opt-in "Meow Mail" and a "Think Like a Cat Sweepstakes," with five grand prizes of a "culinary adventure" with the aptly named celebrity chef Cat Cora.

According to Agency.com Executive Creative Director Mat Zucker, "We've taken a product website in a sector that traditionally sticks to factual, dry communication and brought it to life with an energetic and fresh tone. This is a positive and crucial change in direction for CPG sites."

Sure Mat. Cover your tracks with industry jargon. Just make sure you treat the real site developers to a lavish dinner of Meow Mix Market Select" Cups for a job well done!