Call it “The Apprentice” for cats.

Litter-al truth: Reality bites ... and scratches
By Jesse Noyes
Monday, June 5, 2006 - Updated: 04:22 PM EST

Call it “The Apprentice” for cats.

Taking a page from popular reality television shows like the “Real World” and “Survivor”, feline food-maker Meow Mix is creating a series of mini-episodes following the lives of 10 cats plucked from around the country and living under the same roof.

Titled “Meow Mix House” the show will film the cats interacting with each other and competing for an official spot in the Meow Mix company as vice president of research and development of feline affairs.

“That cat is going to have it made,” said Richard Thompson, chief executive officer at Meow Mix.

The other nine lives will have it made, too. The cats, which were retrieved from shelters, will be set up in plush settings on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, the heart of the domestic advertising industry. As people vote cats off the show through an accompanying Web site, www.MeowMixHouse.com, or at the cat house itself, the felines will find homes with families and get a one-year supply of Meow Mix.

Ten episodes will be shot and will run about three minutes in length. Meow Mix is still seeking out a media partner to air the series, which will likely end up on a national cable network. A launch party is scheduled at the house in New York June 13, where the first completed episode will premier.

The idea for the mini-show was conceived by Grand Central Marketing. But Meow Mix’s ad agency MMB, which is based in Boston, is writing and producing the shows.

While reality TV typically draws its appeal from people engaging in catty behavior, the concept of 10 mousers carrying out their daily ritual of eating and sleeping doesn’t necessarily spark excitement for a mass audience.

For that reason, voice-overs will be added providing humor to the episodes and giving distinct traits to the cats, said Carrie Parks, account director for MMB.

“What we’re doing is creating personalities for each of the cats,” Parks said. “We’ve got one girl (cat) that’s kind of like Marilyn Monroe. There’s another that’s a Woody Allen-like character.”

To that end, MMB has also drafted bios for the cats, giving them a backstory and an attitude.

One cat named Bambi is described as a “floozy”. “One minute she’s with one cat, the next minute another. If the Desperate Housewives ever need a cat, she’s the one,” the bio says.

Another bio portrays tomcat Cisco as a “street-smart cat that has been around the block a few times, and they weren’t pretty blocks either”.

Meow Mix is known for creating oddball promotions. The brand started Meow TV; a show designed for a feline audience, and in 2004 opened a restaurant for cats and their owners in Manhattan.

“We can be fun, and be playful, and get people to pay attention, and be part of the brand,” Thompson said.

By creating longer format content instead of a traditional 30-second spot, the company hopes to entertain consumers rather than annoy them, and avoid the dreaded TiVo effect where TV viewers skip the ads.

“We hope that consumers will look at this as something more than advertising,” Parks said. “They’ll look at it and think of it as entertainment venue.”

Thompson didn’t provide exact figures for the cost of making the program but said the company would “probably spend a couple hundred dollars, all said and done.”

The work involved in making the reality programming is indicative of the demands marketers are now making upon ad agencies to move beyond typical print, radio and TV commercials. Increasingly, as viewers get better at tuning out ads, agencies are expected to find new ways of keeping consumers glued to their TVs.

MMB is in the midst of developing traditional 30-second and 15-second TV spots that will be tied around specific products, Parks said. But the reality programming is about establishing a brand affinity among consumers, she added.

Whether Meow Mix House will generate stronger ties with cat owners is yet to be seen. But Thompson is promising one thing: The drama of a good old cat fight.

“I’m sure there is going to be cat fights,” he said. “But we’ll be there to referee.”