Pet commercial targets dogs with secret sounds

We all know the most effective advertising speaks directly to its audience. And in the case of a dog food maker, it doesn’t seem to matter the rest of us can’t hear it.

Nestle Purina is trying out a TV commercial in Austria for its Benefel dog food that plays sounds directly aimed at dogs.

Listen to Dave and Luke try to hear the new dog food commercial aimed directly at dogs

The company says its experts discovered some sounds really appealed to dogs, so they isolated those for the spot. They include a squeak similar to a dog toy, a high frequency tone similar to a a dog whistle, and a soft, high pitched ‘ping’

According to a company press release:

“Dogs’ hearing is twice as sharp as humans. They can pick up frequencies which are beyond our range and they are better at differentiating sounds,” explained Dr Georg Sanders, a nutrition expert and consumer consultant at Nestlé Purina PetCare in Germany.

“That’s what makes this experiment so great,” says Ross and Burbank co-host Dave Ross. “Because if your dog understands this commercial it shows he’s either bilingual or this commercial is in fact as effective as its creators assume.”

You can try it out for yourself. Just bring your dog over to the computer and crank it up.

-Josh Kerns/97.3 KIRO FM