What I Learned from Watching Ads for Cat Shampoo for Three Hours Straight
There’s a genre of marketing ads you’ve probably never properly considered: pet shampoo. Specifically, cat shampoo. Not dog. Dog has its own culture. Cat shampoo ads are…something else.
I spent three hours watching them online. Don’t judge me. Here’s what you learn when you give yourself over fully to the bottle-spritzed world of feline grooming. First, these ads are not about the cats. They’re about the humans. Cat shampoo advertising is a masterclass in indirect selling. You never see a cat enjoying it. They’re usually frozen in place, wide-eyed, plotting an escape. But the human? Serene. Accomplished. Often weirdly glamorous. Middle-aged in a Pinterest bathroom.
What's fascinating is the emotional jiu-jitsu at play. This isn't about clean cats. It's about control. About the promise that in a feral, unpredictable world, one can lather, rinse, and repeat—even with a yowling Sphynx. These marketers have turned shampooing a cat into an act of personal empowerment. It’s not a hygiene product. It’s a lifestyle flex.
The payoff? You come out of it truly respecting the marketers. They understand that cat owners don’t want to be told what to do. They want to feel smarter than the average pet owner. So the ads are deadpan, no-nonsense, scientifically worded. From an art direction point of view, it outclasses a lot of pharmaceuticals. There’s restraint. Confidence. The whole experience leaves you wondering why your shampoo doesn't have an anti-anxiety complex too.
I spent three hours watching them online. Don’t judge me. Here’s what you learn when you give yourself over fully to the bottle-spritzed world of feline grooming. First, these ads are not about the cats. They’re about the humans. Cat shampoo advertising is a masterclass in indirect selling. You never see a cat enjoying it. They’re usually frozen in place, wide-eyed, plotting an escape. But the human? Serene. Accomplished. Often weirdly glamorous. Middle-aged in a Pinterest bathroom.
What's fascinating is the emotional jiu-jitsu at play. This isn't about clean cats. It's about control. About the promise that in a feral, unpredictable world, one can lather, rinse, and repeat—even with a yowling Sphynx. These marketers have turned shampooing a cat into an act of personal empowerment. It’s not a hygiene product. It’s a lifestyle flex.
The payoff? You come out of it truly respecting the marketers. They understand that cat owners don’t want to be told what to do. They want to feel smarter than the average pet owner. So the ads are deadpan, no-nonsense, scientifically worded. From an art direction point of view, it outclasses a lot of pharmaceuticals. There’s restraint. Confidence. The whole experience leaves you wondering why your shampoo doesn't have an anti-anxiety complex too.