The Best Facebook Ads for High-End Dog Food

THE SPREAD
Good Morning Ad Enthusiasts!

I’m changing up the format a little in this issue. The main course will explore the Facebook ads of four companies (instead of three), with only one ad analyzed per company. The theme of this week is premium dog food brands.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite ad at the bottom of this email.

Last week’s favorite ad was a tie between Hydro Flask and MiiR.

STARTER
Quick Bites:

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• Gen Z hasn’t given up on Google, it’s still their top search engine (Read more)

• Advertisers will soon be able to place Shorts ads next to popular YouTube Shorts (Read more)

MAIN
The Best Premium Dog Food Ads:

This week we are looking at the Facebook ads of four companies offering high-end dog food:

1. Sundays

2. Spot and Tango

3. Maev

4. The Pets Table

What’s so interesting about upscale dog food?

According to Maximize Market Research, the Organic Pet Food Market market is expected to grow at 7.2% between 2024 and 2030.

Consumers are becoming more aware of their pet’s health needs and want to provide them with healthier food. Pets have gained family member status in many households.

How I Analyze Facebook Ads

A great Facebook ad communicates the benefits of the product or service, not solely the features. Features are cool, but customers really care about what those features do for them (the benefit). For example, having four ingredients is a feature. But, food that is easily digestible and doesn’t upset my dog’s stomach is a benefit.

Alright, let’s see how these companies market their premium dog food:

#1: Sundays

The Good:

• This ad does an excellent job of using features support the benefit. “No mess,” “no prep,” and “100% human-grade” are features that help make the benefit of “effortless” dog meals more believable.

• The second sentence of the Primary text is also effective because it uses the word “you,” which feels more personal and trustworthy (when used appropriately).

• The image does a great job of drawing interest. It has magazine vibes. Nicholas being a “Parent to Beef” is not only amusing (Beef is such a great name), but also resonates with the target audience: dog owners who are looking for a premium food.

• The quote from Nicholas addresses a major concern that many dog parents have: will this food cause indigestion.

The Bad:

• The image does not synergize well with Nicholas’s quote: it’s a nice picture of Beef and Nicholas at a beach, but the actual dog food is not shown.

The Recommendation:

• I would test the same Primary text and the same quote by Nicholas with different images.

• Ideally, testing an image with Beef eating the food, or at least showing what a box of the food actually looks like would help elevate this ad even more. Instead of the circle with “Save 40%” I would put an image of the food box in that area.

#2 Spot and Tango

The Good:

• My favorite part of this ad is the image, it looks like something a friend or family member would post. It’s not pretty, but it feels real.

• The last sentence in the Primary text, “Your dog will love it or your money back,” is a great way to counter one of the main hangups that a dog parent would have: will my dog eat this food?.

The Bad:

• The Primary text could be more clear on the value and benefit provided by this dog food. Saying that it “doesn’t take up your freezer and is 40% less than other brands!” is strange phrasing. Is it saying the food won’t fill up my freezer because it’s fresh? Is that the main benefit? And, is the 40% less referring to the price of the food or the space it takes up in the freezer? The description below the image doesn’t add any clarity because it says “Save 50%” with a code. Am I saving 50% after saving 40%? It’s confusing.

• The writing on the notecard pictured within the image is too small; the idea is great but the writing needs to be more legible and bigger.

The Recommendation:

• I would test a quote or review from a happy customer in the Primary text, but keep the “Your dog will love it or your money back” sentence.

• Test different backgrounds; this looks like a warehouse floor, but having a nice wood floor or tile floor would help the image look more inviting.

• Get a bigger notecard and the enlarge the writing on it.

• Clarify the benefit of buying this food, is it about taking up less space in the freezer or making meal prep easy?

#3: Maev

The Good:

• The ad states the benefit in the Primary text (even picky dogs will eat this food) and uses the image as proof of that statement (a bowl of beef chunks). This works well because the viewer automatically thinks, “yeah that does look like real beef.”

• Using on-brand words/phrases like, “NEWFRIEND,” as a discount code elevates the experience for the customer, although things like that are hard to measure.

• Unlike the other ads, which use the description section to promote a percentage off the price, this ad uses that space more effectively by listing additional features of the food: vitamin-enriched, raw, 100% real beef, veggies and berries. The five gold stars is also a nice touch.

• The way the dog is looking at the food bowl is also something every dog owner can relate to; the dog is clearly focused on the food and is waiting patiently for it.

The Bad:

• It’s hard to criticize this ad. I would test different variations of the Primary text but the ad itself doesn’t need any fixes. I was going to say the logo image (the bright neon yellow circle at the top of the ad) needs to be fixed, but if you search for meetmaev dot com, a neon yellow square appears to be their official logo.

The Recommendation:

• Test a customer quote or review, ideally one that mentions a benefit like convenience or having a happier and healthier pet.

#4: The Pets Table

The Good:

• What I like most about this ad is the use of social proof. Here, the image is a screenshot of an interaction on X (formerly Twitter). Cole Kelly is asking for help in choosing a healthier option than kibble. And, Mckenna Hays responds by recommending The Pets Table. This is effective because it looks like an unbiased recommendation (I’m assuming for now that it’s real, but I have some doubts).

The Bad:

• The Primary text needs to explain why “Personalized dog food” is a benefit to the buyer. Help the customer justify the purchase.

• Mckenna’s answer is almost too perfect to be real. She capitalizes all the right words and throws in the “plus they give new customers 50% off!” at the end, which I doubt most of us would say if we were giving a recommendation on social media. I might be wrong but that’s the sense I get from looking at this ad.

The Recommendation:

• Taking screenshots of people recommending your product is a great idea and can be very effective; I recommend testing more of these types of ads, but make sure it’s genuine or it could backfire.

• Specify and clarify the benefit of this food for the buyer, will it make my pet happier? Will it be easier to prepare than other premium foods? Spell out the benefit.

• Use the description section more effectively by including features and benefits not mentioned elsewhere in the ad.

SIDES
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