Meow Mix Takes House To The Airwaves

Meow Mix has taken the concept of its 2005 pop-up store a step further and is dipping its paws into branded content with a weekly reality show airing Fridays on Animal Planet.

In "The Meow Mix House," 10 cats from shelters around the country are competing for two faux executive jobs'? at Meow Mix. In each episode, the cats compete in challenges like best purr and a scratch-pole climb. Actors recorded voice-overs for each cat to give the felines their own personalities. Cats voted off by viewers and company execs after each show are adopted back in their hometowns. The first episode aired last week; the final show is August 18. Meow Mix tried to stay away from blatant branding during the program, aside from the name of the house itself and product placement in the background. Ira Cohen, director-marketing for Meow Mix, told Buzz the brand wanted to keep the show entertaining rather than turning it into a commercial. The episodes were filmed in the last 10 days in New York City ; the venue was open to visitors from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

"Meow Mix is known as a fun brand, so entertaining our consumer base of cat lovers is something we've always wanted to do," Cohen said. "Giving consumers entertaining ways to have cats involved in a program is great. On the other side, we're getting cats adopted and raising awareness for adoption of so many cats, so it's a feel-good, too."

Street teams have been driving around New York City handing out samples of the brand's new wet cat food and invitations to the house. Agency: Grand Central Marketing, New York City .