Dog food startup Jinx celebrated smooches and squished bedmates in its first TV campaign

An emerging dog food brand, started D2C and now in over 5,000 retail locations including Walmart, Target, Petsmart, Safeway and Albertsons, needed awareness among dog-obsessed owners to accelerate growth in a crowded category.

Two honest slices of dog-owner life — a Golden Retriever's passionate kisses, a man exiled to the bed edge by a sprawled French Bulldog — ending on 'Dog people get it.'

Two spots shot through Zambezi's in-house production studio Fin, the agency's first work since being hired in July. A six-week flight across linear and CTV, with over 5,500 linear units secured across 18 networks.

No sales results reported. The six-week flight secured over 5,500 linear units across 18 networks, aimed at creating brand awareness and rallying dog owners around the food they choose.

Pet food brand Jinx launched its first TV campaign with L.A. agency Zambezi: two spots about the extremes people go to share their lives with their dogs. In one, a woman receives passionate kisses from her Golden Retriever to the bemusement of a delivery person; in another, a man sleeps on the very edge of his bed while his French Bulldog snores in spacious luxury.

Each spot ends with the phrase 'Dog people get it.' Jinx creative director Leigh Collins said the relatable quirks between dogs and owners — being smooshed to the side of the bed or smooched by a Golden Retriever — are real and a sign of true love, and that telling these stories sets Jinx up to stand out in a crowded category.

The work is the first from Zambezi and its in-house production studio Fin, turned around quickly after the agency was hired in July for an immediate project. On set, the French Bulldog Gunnar needed several tries to fake sleep, and the Golden Samson nearly tackled the actress, whose lips were re-slicked with baby food between takes.

The insight targets identity, not need: people who let dogs take over the bed recognise themselves instantly.

First-work speed mattered — Jinx needed awareness now, in a category where retail shelf presence was already expanding.

Casting real dog behaviour, down to the baby-food lips, keeps the humour observational rather than gag-driven.

A six-week linear and CTV flight puts a D2C-born brand in front of a mainstream TV audience for the first time.

For challenger brands, recognisable micro-moments of a passionate niche beat product demos — the audience's self-identification does the targeting.

The work was set to air across linear and CTV for a six-week flight; Adweek reported no performance results. Jinx had grown from D2C into over 5,000 retail locations nationwide.