Campaign: Iams Presents: Waylon
Company: Mars
Agency Partners: adam&eveDDB (creative); King Henry (design); Ketchum (public relations); Biscuit Filmworks x Revolver (production); Glue Society (experiential); Biscuit Filmworks US (service); Absolute Post (editing)
Dates: November 24 — December 15, 2024
All sorts of marketers want their brands to participate in Thanksgiving parades. But apparently, for some balloon animals, that just isn’t possible.
Strategy
In 2018, a survey from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that more than half of the canines in the United States were overweight or obese.
The creatives at Iams, a pet food brand, decided to increase awareness of the issue with an oversized balloon featuring a dog, Waylon, who could not make it to the Thanksgiving Day parade in Chicago because he got stuck between two buildings.
“The idea to create a larger-than-life, holiday parade balloon was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the scale of the problem of overweight dogs, while showcasing the importance of the issue to the Iams brand,” Jean-Paul Jansen, Mars Pet Nutrition North America chief marketing officer, stated in an email to PRWeek.
Tactics
A balloon designer, Jennifer Palmer, used pictures of a dog to “capture his unique details [including the diamond-shaped marking on his forehead],” Jansen stated.
The brand worked with a production team on the engineering logistics to ensure the balloon was the right size and shape to get between the buildings, Jansen stated.
The brand also sponsored the parade, and the balloon was featured in its broadcast on Pluto TV.
On social media, Iams shared posts with the balloon and onlookers in Chicago and ones featuring the actual Waylon. A TikTok post shows Waylon and the trapped balloon and a narrator says, “Yeah, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”
@iams Waylon’s balloon may be stuck, but the real Waylon is on a healthy weight journey! With IAMS nutrition, portion control, and exercise, he’s making big strides. Follow his journey! #IAMSxWaylon #IAMSforLife #HealthyDogsMatter ♬ original sound – ikaaaaa
Iams also worked with 17 influencers, including Thomas Trust, who creates content about men’s fashion and luxury design, and Maggie Emory, who posts about her dogs.
To generate earned media, Iams targeted lifestyle and consumer publications and sponsored a spot on CBS Mornings the week of Thanksgiving.
Additionally, the balloon prompted passersby to scan on-site QR codes driving them to the IAMS Healthy Weight Dog Hub.
Results
On Instagram, reels with the balloon and Waylon received more than 27 million views, and on TikTok, the brand’s posts received more than 37 million views. The TikTok video with the real and fake Waylon received more than 26,000 likes.
Trust and Emory’s Instagram posts received more than 7 million views.
