Advertisers now able to target not just you, but your pet too!

The latest advertising ploy comes from Nestle Purina in Germany with their latest television ad for Beneful, their brand of dog food.

The ad uses different high frequency tones — some only dogs can hear — to attract them to the television when the commercial is on your screen. Their aim is to utilize dogs’ sensitivity to sound in order to engage them in a way their owners would take note of. On YouTube you can see videos of dogs reacting to the commercial, staring at the television and even barking at it.

To create the commercial, Nestle Purina asked experts in pet behavior to help them understand which sounds appeal to canines. Dogs who play with squeaky toys will likely have the strongest reaction to the ad.

The commercial was first broadcast on German television, internet sites and the Beneful website throughout this past summer, and has started airing on television in Austria this week.

Their primary goal is to position Beneful as a brand that not only understands what appeals to dog owners, but to dogs themselves, as well as the unique relationship between each dog and their owner.

The ad follows up on their award winning ‘Stop sniffing’ campaign which similarly appealed to dogs’ sensibilities. For this campaign, special Beneful scented posters were used in advertising boards around Germany. The intent was to have dogs stop to sniff them while on walks with their owners.

Watch the commercial below: