• by Tanya Gazdik , 26 minutes ago

Mars Petcare is taking a dark humor approach in its holiday spot for Greenies dog chews.

The 20-second spot from Adam&EveDDB shows a seemingly innocent scene where a child is building a snowman accompanied by his four-legged best friend. 

“Dogs don’t know what’s good for them,” per the voiceover. “Like not being able to leave a good stick alone.”  The dog jumps up and grabs the snowman’s stick arm, prompting the snowman to scream in pain and the boy to pass out in the snow. “Greenies Dental treat, something better for your dog to chew on,” concludes the voiceover.

The spot is the latest piece in the brand’s current creative campaign, which focuses on how dogs don’t know what’s good for them. The campaign launched in May 2019 to support the brand’s expansion into mass retailers, according to the company. The brand also partnered with celebrity pet parent and television star Mario Lopez and his French bulldog, Julio Cesar Chavez Lopez. Mario took to Instagram to give a humorous look at how a typical day would unfold if Julio was in charge.

“As pet parents, we want the best for our pups, but their wide-eyed innocence and impulsiveness can make it difficult to steer them in the right direction,” said Olivia Gardner, Greenies brand manager, in a release.

Stop-motion animation was used to create the spot, with the set and puppets being built over a two-month period. The characters were built to one-fifth of their natural size, and the boy’s costume was handmade. 

The lead puppeteer of the spot was also the lead puppeteer of Wes Anderson’s 2018 movie, “Isle of Dogs.” Over five days of filming, 90% of the spot was captured on camera, leaving very little to post-production. The ad is being supported with Online Video Platforms, digital, social and print through the end of the year. It will also start airing on TV on Nov. 23.