Not only people watch television, pets do that to, but the content they see doesn’t usually tug at their heartstrings. Nestlé Purina, which last year released a first-ever movie shot by cats under its Friskies brand, now is about to launch a 23-second TV commercial designed especially for dogs in Austria this week after broadcasting it in Germany this summer. To create an advert for Beneful, the brand teamed up with pet behavior experts from the USA, who guided the production team, consulting on what sounds really can make the canines turn their faces to the screen.

The advert creators selected a range of sounds, which were sure to catch the four-legged pets’ attention—it uses a high frequency tone (this is specially for dogs, humans almost don’t hear that) as well as a ‘squeak’ (like the one toys make) in the very beginning of the ad and a high-pitched ‘ping’ which can be heard by dogs and people. “The reaction of dogs to the sounds in the commercial depends on how the dog and owner play together, and the dog’s individual experience. Dogs who often play with a squeaky duck as they are running around with their owner will certainly react most strongly to this sound,” comments Dr Georg Sanders, a nutrition expert and consumer consultant at Nestlé Purina PetCare in Germany.

The commercial follows a successful campaign, launched Nestlé Purina ‘Stop-sniffing’ campaign in Germany last year, which was also revolving around a dog’s ability to sense things much better than humans do. The Beneful brand started testing the canines’ talent for recognizing smells by setting special posters with the scent of Beneful dog food on advertising boards across Germany—dogs could identify the delicious advertising during long walks with their ‘big brothers’ along the streets of cities and towns. Now, the brand offers web savvy dog owners to test their pets’ ability to react to external stimulus while being at home—sitting side by side with their dog, they can visit the dedicated website and play three of the sounds from the commercial, and see which of them their pet likes more. They can also win a year’s supply of Beneful dog food products—for this, dog owners are asked to enter some information (the submission is running through the end of October).

“The television commercial aims to reach both the pet and the owner, supporting the special one-to-one relationship between them. It shows what our brand Beneful is all about. We want to position our brand as one which understands the unique relationship between owners and their dogs. And also to provide dogs with the right balance of nutritious, tasty and wholesome food,” commented Xavier Pérez, Brand Manager of Beneful for Nestlé Purina PetCare Europe.