• Miami Herald /Associated Press, Tuesday, June 13, 2006 12 PM

The marketers of Meow Mix cat food are sponsoring a new reality TV show starring, well, cats. The project consists of 10 three-minute segments in which ten cats, picked from animal shelters nationwide, will live in a New York house to compete for a grand prize--in this instance an executive-level job with Meow Mix cat food. "This thing is very tongue-in-cheek," Ira Cohen, the company's director of advertising and marketing, said Thursday. The segments will run on the Animal Planet channel on Friday nights for ten weeks, starting June 16. Cohen acknowledged that the stunt is designed to generate publicity for the brand, but he added that there is a serious side to it. He said the spots are aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of pet adoptions and the ongoing need for homes for older cats. June represents a key adoption period for kittens born in the spring. In voiceovers accompanying the segments, the cats will be given personalities as crafted by advertising copywriters.

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