I love this commercial. Everything about it, until the 55 second mark when a grocery-store bag of crap enters the screen.
The reason I hate these types of commercials is because they pander to audiences, in making you believe that this is good food.
Does that sound appetizing? Any of it?
Have you ever seen a dog running through a cornfield, excited and looking hungrily at the stalks?
How many people do you know with gluten intolerances, or who like eating chicken by-products?
The first 3 ingredients by themselves sound like you're feeding chicken-infused tortilla chips...
But, it gets better. Assume you have a 60lb dog. A 31.1lb bag will set you back $28.99, and recommended feeding is about 5-5.5 cups per day. It's costing you $1.04 per day to feed your dog, and over $370 per year.
$370 a year, to feed your dog garbage.
Well, a better food costs more, doesn't it???
Top 6 ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, white rice.
The top 3 ingredients are all meat, with #1 being REAL meat. (Meat meal isn't bad, but it's nice to see real meat as well.) No byproducts. No corn. Ingredients that sound like stuff *I* would eat!
Now, for price. A 35lb bag of Premium Edge will cost you $39.99.
Whoa whoa whoa, it DOES cost more! Right?
Wrong. It's healthier, so you're feeding less. Serving size for a 60lb dog is 2.5-3 cups a day, which means daily cost of feeding is $0.76. That's over a quarter a day in savings. Yearly cost for this food is just under $275.
Almost $100 in yearly savings, to feed a better food for your dog. (and that's just one medium-sized dog. Imagine households with 2...3... 4 dogs or more...)
Why don't the commercials say that??
Oh, that's right, they put all their money into marketing, and not nutrition.
Long story short, don't buy your pet food at a grocery store or at Target/Walmart. Don't pay for TV commercials, and don't trust a brand you see on TV (at least, not without some due diligence). Read labels, ask about 'costs per feeding' and make sure you do right by your dog.
Not only will you save money on food, but feeding a healthier diet means less vet bills. Less poop to clean up. Less to feed means a bag lasts longer. It's really win/win/win.
Anyway, there's my rant, but it's a rant who's been selling/marketing/analyzing dozens of pet foods over the last 10 years. In my personal life, I work for a company that sells a 'grocery' brand. Sales or not, commissions or not, I would never recommend crap like Beneful to friends or family.
Which is why I can't, in good conscience, push brands like that to my clients. It may hurt my wallet, but I do what's right.
What do you feed your pet? And why?
p.s. - It seems that I got Purina's attention. The @Beneful twitter account messaged me and two of my followers, asking us to contact them to discuss...
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Sorry, there's nothing really to discuss. Your commercials are fantastic, your pet food is not. If you'd like to hire me on as a nutritional consultant, feel free to email me at lostinidaho@ymail.com. For now, I'll enjoy selling against you in my day job, and advocating against grocery-brands here. Cheers!
