Picky Powell pug plugs dog food in ads
When a camera crew showed up this summer at his Powell home, Rudy was ready for his closeup.
The affable pug lapped up the attention as eagerly as he'd lapped up a bowl of FreshPet dog food in the fall after a self-imposed "hunger strike."
That story — one of a picky eater who would apparently rather starve than eat one more helping of dry kibble — attracted the attention of FreshPet, which is now showcasing it as part of a national advertising campaign.
The 15- and 30-second spots on both cable and network television launched on Aug. 14. In the ads, Mary Ann Jepsen recounts how her dog's sudden refusal to
eat dry food for days left him weak and lethargic.
When she and her husband, Stephen, fed him all-natural refrigerated food from FreshPet— a brand the dog had once had when the Jepsens used it give him some medication — he became his old self again.
“Within 10 to 15 minutes, Rudy was up and running around the kitchen,” said Mary Ann, a mental-health therapist who practices in Clintonville and Sunbury. “It was a dramatic story; I couldn’t even believe it.”
The positive transformation prompted her to write to the company, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, to thank them.
The response from FreshPet was hardly one she anticipated, but she happily volunteered Rudy to be the face of the campaign.
When FreshPet representatives heard Rudy’s success story, they knew it was something worth promoting, said John Speranza, vice president of marketing.
As dogs age, Speranza said, it’s not uncommon for them to become picky eaters.
“It’s kind of scary. You reach a point where pet parents are looking for solutions to help give dogs the food and nourishment that they need. We wanted to exhibit Rudy’s story to reach as many households as we can.”
The effort is part of a 2-year-old “letters” campaign highlighting the stories of FreshPet consumers and their pooches’ positive experiences with the food.
In addition to the TV ads, a longer, 60-second version of Rudy’s story will be told on www.freshpet.com/letters and the company’s Youtube and Facebook pages.
When Rudy’s eating troubles surfaced in the fall, Mary Ann figured that he would eat once he got hungry enough. Five days passed, though, and he hadn’t touched his bowl of dry food.
She knew something was wrong when Luke, one of the
Jepsens’ four sons, visited from New York City and Rudy gave him a less-thanexcited greeting.
“Rudy wouldn’t even budge,” she said. “He didn’t have the energy to actually do anything.”
On a whim, Stephen Jepsen, recalling the pug’s excitement for FreshPet when the Jepsens used it to entice Rudy to take pills for a recent illness, decided to go buy some.
The dog, whom the Jepsens bought as a puppy from a Dayton breeder, scarfed down the food, and he hasn’t wanted anything else since.
It was only then that the realization hit Mary Ann: “He went on a hunger strike,” she said. “He was willing to die rather than eat that other food.”
When she relayed the story to her son Mark, he recommended that Mary Ann write to FreshPet.
About six months later, she and Rudy participated in a video interview with FreshPet representatives. Soon after, they arranged for FreshPet, in cooperation with the ad agency Terri & Sandy, to visit her in Powell to film the commercial.
“It was like Hollywood had come to my home,” she said with a laugh. “It was so fantastic; the people were wonderful.”