The SHEBA Brand Releases New Sleep-Inducing Ad to Help Cat Parents Get Back to Sleep

Over the past year, sleep patterns have suffered due to the anxieties and abnormalities of the pandemic, but they may have also shifted in response to something quite surprising: our cats.

What some cat owners may not know is that their pets are crepuscular creatures and are notoriously more active (and hungry!) in the early morning hours. While many cat parents are happy to cope with that 4 a.m. feline wake-up call, the SHEBA® Brand is making it easier to protect their sleep with new custom content designed to help them get back to dreamland.

“While we all know sleep is precious, most cat parents would say that they put the needs of their cats before their own,” said Craig Neely, Vice President of Marketing at Mars Petcare. “The SHEBA® Brand understands how we love to give in to our cats and created this sleep-inducing content in partnership with sleep scientists as a solution to fall back into a peaceful night’s sleep after meeting our cats’ early morning demands.”

In collaboration with Behavioral Sleep Therapist, Donna Fairly, and Renata Riha, a Sleep Physician from the University of Edinburgh, the SHEBA® Brand’s new ad is meant to aid parents in the early morning hours, when they may be reaching for their phones most. Developed by AMV BBDO, the 4 a.m. Sleep-Inducing Film uses a combination of the best sleep techniques – including 20 minutes of body scans, ASMR voices, calm visual effects, meditation and soothing colours – to help cat parents get off their phones and get back to sleep. 

“The film includes several sleep strategies that are helpful for inducing sleep,” said Donna Fairly. “The tranquil colours and peaceful music, coupled with the tone of the voices throughout makes this content very relaxing, and should be effective for anyone with sleep challenges.”

The content can be viewed on the SHEBA® brand’s YouTube channel, and across their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. The brand has also curated a 4 a.m. Lullaby Spotify Album to help feline families drift back to sleep.

Credits:

Client: Mars

Brand: Sheba

Campaign Title: Sheba 4 a.m.

Client Name: Elizabeth Barret, Matt Darcy and Liz Franks

Creative Agency: AMV BBDO

CCO: Alex Grieve

ECDs: Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley

Creative Directors: Jay Phillips and Neil Clarke

Creative Team: Cesar Herszkowicz, Marcos Almirante and Zak Loney

Account Team: Matt Henry, Ella Fanshawe and Alice Kassapian

Strategy Team: Emily Brydon, Phoebe Fielding and Brian Williamson

Agency Producer: Darapen Vongsa-Nga

Production Company: Friends Electric

Director: Ewan Jones Morris

Producer: Giles Edward-N

EP: Barney Richard 

Concept Design & Storyboards: Ricardo Bessa

Animatic: Sandra Clua

Animators: Bradley Franklin, Rosalvo Melo, Alixe Labato, Tom Crate and Theo Tagholm.

CG Lead: Dean Robinson

CG Artists: Joe Trimby, Jordan Dunstall, Ed Sherwood, Nikolai Maderthoner, Tom Di Stasio, Julie Cruette and Luis Cancio Villalonga

DMP: Dave Gibbons 

Director of Photography: Jed Darlington-Roberts

Sound Recordist: Adam Davies

Editor: Holly Winship

Featured Artist: Neil Raitt 

Color: ETC Colour

Colorist: Luke Morrison 

Sound Studio: 750mph

Audio Post-production: Sam & Jake Ashwell

Music & Sound Design: Studiokamp

PR Agency: Weber-Shandwick

Media Agency: MediaCom 

Digital Agency: Barefoot Proximity

Researchers: Donna Fairly (Behavioral Sleep Therapist) and Renata Riha (Sleep Physician at the University of Edinburgh)

Source: AMV BBDO

  4 Am Stories, AMV BBDO, Cat Food, Craig Neely, Donna Fairly, Mars Petcare, Sheba