The Olympics, that quadrennial ritual of national pride and athletic tape, have always had a way of making brands reach for the medal stand. This summer, Nulo, the premium pet food company, is making its own bid for glory — though the athletes in question are somewhat furrier than the ones in Paris.
The Nulo Summer Games, presented in partnership with Petco, invites pet owners to submit photographs or videos of their dogs and cats engaged in what the company is calling their best "sport" or athletic moment. Six winners — three canine, three feline — will receive what Nulo describes as "a first-of-its-kind pet athlete endorsement contract," a designation that suggests either genuine novelty or a failure to consult the archives of Pupperoni campaigns past.
The gold medalist pets will appear in a national advertising campaign and receive a year's supply of food, custom trading pins and, perhaps most notably, their likeness printed on a Nulo kibble bag. (One imagines the creative brief: "Make the cat look heroic, but also hungry.")
To enter, participants must follow both @nulopetfood and @petco on Instagram, post their content, tag both accounts and include the hashtag #Nulo_Contest. The contest runs through Aug. 26, which allows sufficient time for pet owners to coax their animals into something resembling athletic achievement.
The judging panel includes three actual human Olympians who serve as Team Nulo ambassadors: Ryan Crouser, the shot put champion; Regan Smith, the backstroke specialist; and Jessica Long, the Paralympic swimming legend with 18 gold medals to her name. Their task, evaluating a Pomeranian's agility against a tabby's vertical leap, represents a meaningful departure from their usual competitive criteria.
The campaign will be supported by displays at thousands of Petco locations, along with a promotion offering 20 percent off purchases of $26 or more on Nulo products — a discount structure that appears designed to encourage consumers to think in Olympic increments.
Whether any of this will move pet food remains, as always, a matter for the judges.
Original story published in MediaPost: "Nulo Summer Games Aims to Find Four-Legged Athletes"