Whiskas x Checkers Sixty60
My Role
Creative Director, Social Content
The Brief
We focused on switchers and lapsed Whiskas buyers, particularly those who had moved away from the brand because of price, despite knowing that their cats preferred Whiskas. The brief was clear: make the 500g dry food packet the hero while communicating taste, nutrition and the emotional relationship between cats and their parents.
The Creative Idea
Only Cats Will Understand
We developed Only Cats Will Understand around a simple truth: there are parts of the Whiskas experience that only a cat can truly understand. We may not know what Whiskas tastes like to our cats, but we can see how much they love it.
This gave us a way to communicate taste and nutrition through behaviour rather than simply telling people about the product.
Creative disclaimer
The content below was developed as creative examples to show how the campaign could come to life. The visuals were AI generated to communicate the creative direction and are not final production assets, so some visual and product details may not accurately reflect the final product.
The Purr-ents
As cats increasingly become part of the family, we leaned into the relationship between cats and their Purr-ents. The creative showed those small, recognisable moments that make the relationship special, while positioning the Whiskas packet at the centre of the interaction. The cat’s reaction becomes the proof.
Connecting Whiskas to Checkers Sixty60
Cats are inquisitive creatures and become strongly associated with things they encounter regularly. We used this behaviour as part of the creative idea. By consistently placing Checkers Sixty60 alongside Whiskas, we wanted to create an association in the cat’s world too.
The idea was that when the cat sees Checkers Sixty60, it recognises what comes next: Whiskas is here. This also reinforces the convenience of Checkers Sixty60, connecting the brand to the purchase experience.
The Creative Principle
At its core, the campaign was built on one simple insight: we may not understand what our cats experience when they eat Whiskas, but we can see how much they love it.
That became the bridge between taste, nutrition, emotion and conversion, while the repeated connection between Whiskas and Checkers Sixty60 helped turn that preference into a purchase habit.
The journey
From Consideration to Purchase
Price was an important barrier among lapsed buyers. The client also pointed out that while 18 to 25 year olds are more likely to own cats, their parents are often the ones buying the food, which made value an important part of the journey.
Today, promotions are not just an added incentive. For many shoppers, they are part of how they decide what is worth buying. By building promotional messaging into the creative, we gave the consumer another reason to move from “I want this” to “I should get this now.”
The final stage moved into the Checkers Sixty60 app, where shoppers are already in a purchase mindset. Sponsored banners, search placements and personalised reminders put Whiskas in front of them when they were ready to buy.
Reflection
My Process
I started with the strategic insight that Only Cats Will Understand. From there, I explored how the cat’s behaviour could be the centre of the story and use it to communicate something humans cannot directly experience: the taste and enjoyment of Whiskas.
Each concept was developed around a simple narrative structure. Even within 10 seconds, the content needed a beginning, middle and end, while keeping the product and pack visible throughout.
My Contribution
I was responsible for developing the creative direction and social content, translating the campaign strategy into short-form content.
I took the strategic direction and turned it into visual concepts and short-form stories, from creative development through to execution.
Challenges
The biggest challenge was convincing lapsed buyers, and people who do not normally buy Whiskas, to choose the brand, particularly when price was a key barrier.
We needed to give consumers a reason to reconsider Whiskas beyond simply telling them the product was good. The creative had to make the value feel worth the purchase while still connecting emotionally with the cat.
We also had a very tight timeline. I had roughly two days to develop the creative, so there was little room for lengthy experimentation or multiple rounds of development.
How I Overcame Them
We shifted the focus from simply selling cat food to showing why the cat wants Whiskas. The cat’s reaction became our proof of taste and enjoyment, while the nutritional value and promotional messaging gave the parent a more rational reason to choose it.
The tight timeline also forced me to work intuitively and simplify the storytelling. Instead of trying to communicate everything at once, I built each concept around one clear idea that could be understood within seconds.
What I Learned
This project reinforced something I already know about myself as a creative: I am a storyteller first.
Even within a 10 second format, I naturally look for a beginning, middle and end. I learned that short-form storytelling does not mean telling less of a story. It means finding the clearest and most immediate way to tell it.
It also strengthened my ability to develop creative quickly without losing the strategic idea at the centre of the work.
Outcome
The creative received strong positive feedback from the client, particularly on how the strategic idea was translated into engaging visual content.
The concepts showed how the Only Cats Will Understand territory could come to life across short-form social content, with the product and the Checkers Sixty60 connection staying central.