What it had to solve
The next iteration of Milk-Bone's 'More Dog' platform, which takes on pop culture trends and tropes — dating shows, streetwear, perfume collabs — to show that the bond with dogs makes everything better.
The idea
A full parody rom-com movie trailer for a dog treat — corny magic, dog cameos, puns and fake festival laurels — screened before the trailers in cinemas.
How it works
Directed by feature filmmaker Sammi Cohen ('You're So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah'), starring actress and singer-songwriter Katelyn Tarver, with credits replacing cast and crew with messages of how great the film could be; media across TV, OLV, audio, social and content partnerships, with the trailer in-cinema as 'the trailer before the trailers' plus matching OOH; social extends a fictional production company with director's chair interviews, red-carpet VI-Pup footage and the 'The Barkening' series.
What it did
No performance figures reported; per BBH USA the 'More Dog' platform evolved into a full 'dog-iverse' spanning cinema, TV and an online genre-film series.
Background
In October 2024, ahead of award season, Milk-Bone debuted 'Howl You Know', a parody romantic-comedy trailer created by BBH USA through PSOne, Publicis Groupe's Power of One solution for The J.M. Smucker Co. The joke: the best trailer hitting theatres isn't real — but consumers' love for their dogs and Milk-Bone treats is. The brand cited a statistic that 71% of moviegoers purposefully go to the theatre to see the trailers, and set out to 'MORE DOG-ify' one of the most appreciated parts of movie-going.
The trailer commits fully to rom-com craft. Directed by up-and-coming feature director Sammi Cohen and starring actress and singer-songwriter Katelyn Tarver, it is jam-packed with dog cameos and puns, carries faux accolades from the fictional 'G'Dog' and 'Boops & Boops' film festivals, and ends on credits that swap the cast and crew for messages about how great the film could be if it existed.
Theatricality extends past the film. The media buy spanned TV, online video, audio, social and content partnerships, with the faux trailer playing in cinemas as the trailer before the trailers, supported by in-cinema OOH. On social, Milk-Bone's fabricated production company comes to life through director's chair interviews with the 'stars', red carpet footage of VI-Pup guests, and exclusive :30 and :15 spots parodying genre films, beginning with 'The Barkening'.
Why it lands
Trailers are the rare ad slot audiences actively choose to watch, so becoming one beats interrupting one.
The 'More Dog' platform had already parodied dating shows, streetwear and perfume collabs; award-season cinema was its natural next trope.
Real production values — a feature director, a known lead, festival laurel gags — make the parody shareable rather than skippable.
The fictional production company turns one trailer into an expandable content universe, per BBH's SVP Alan Wilson.
What you can take
Parody works when the craft is real: hire a film director, respect the genre's clichés, and the ad becomes the content people came for.
Since then
'Howl You Know' launched in October 2024 across cinema, TV, online video, audio and social, with 'The Barkening' series starting online; LBB's coverage reported no viewership or sales results.
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