What country is Whiskas from

Whiskas

Brand of cat food

This article is about the cat food brand. For the sensory hairs, see

Whiskers

.

For the Australian footballer who changed his name to "Whiskas" for promotional purposes, see

Garry Hocking

.

Whiskas (formerly known as Kal Kan) is a brand of cat food sold internationally. It is owned by the American company Mars, Incorporated. It is available either as small meaty pieces in sauce, gravy or jelly packaged in tins, foil trays or pouches, as well as in the form of small biscuits sold in cartons or pouches and milk sold in small bottles. Its packaging has a recognisable purple color and a stylized silhouette of a cat's head.

History[edit]

Whiskas, originally known as Kal Kan, started manufacturing pet foods in 1936 from its headquarters near Los Angeles, California. It eventually grew its operations across the United States. In 1958, it entered the UK market under the Whiskas brand,^[1] which was later expanded throughout Europe.

The company was bought by Mars Inc. in 1968,^[2] and became a subsidiary of Petfoods Ltd (later renamed Pedigree Petfoods).

In 1989, Kal Kan changed its name in the U.S. to Whiskas, to bring it under a single international brand (in line with their European operations) and to help unify advertising campaigns globally. Prior to 1989, Kal Kan's dry cat food had been sold under the Crave brand.^[3] Although Kal Kan had more brand equity in the U.S., "Whiskas" was also found to be perceived by consumers a more likeable and "feline-sounding" name.^[4]

In the United States, Whiskas is made in McLean, Virginia by Pedigree Petfoods.

Marketing[edit]

In the U.K., a well-known advertising slogan for Whiskas was "eight out of 10 owners said their cat prefers it".^[1] After a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, this was changed to "eight out of 10 owners who expressed a preference said their cat prefers it".^[5] The British panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats takes its name from the slogan.^[6] The slogan has been much imitated in the 1980s, Red Stripe Lager was advertised with the slogan "9 out of 10 cats prefer it", a play on "cat" meaning a trendy person. Similarly, a 1987 TV advertisement for Pretty Polly in which a nylon stocking was used to replace the fan belt in a Jaguar car used the slogan "So smooth, 9 out of 10 cats prefer them"; "cat" this time is a reference to the make of car featured.

In 1999, Australian rules footballer Garry Hocking changed his name by deed poll to "Whiskas" as part of the Geelong Football Club promotion with the company. It was the first such publicity stunt of its kind.^[7]

On June 3, 1999, Whiskas singles aired the very first "commercial for cats" on American TV.^[8] The VHS release featured a small segment on how the advert worked, and showed several cats' reactions. The advert itself was a collection of clips with contrasting colours, fish and video captured from underwater. The end of the video (before fading out and then running again) claimed that "In our tests, 8 out of 10 preferred it".

In Hungary, the Whiskas advertising slogan is "A macskk Whiskast vennnek", which means "Cats would buy Whiskas (if they could)". Slogans with the same meaning are used in Serbia, Germany, Austria, Finland, Estonia, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia, Romania, Poland, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

In Denmark, there once was an advertising slogan "Katte ville vlge Whiskas", which means "Cats would choose Whiskas." In Sweden, a similar slogan is used: "Whiskas Om katten sjlv fr vlja", which means "Whiskas If the cat itself gets to choose."

In Russia, the slogan was " ", which means "Your kitty would buy Whiskas", where the phrase is rhymed, since one of the words for "kitty" and "Whiskas" rhyme in Russian.

In Italian speaking countries the slogan i gatti comprerebbero Whiskas - "cats would buy Whiskas" has long been in use.^[9][10]

In Autumn of 2009, Whiskas handed out feeding dishes to the earliest 1000 registrations to their menu planner.^[11][12]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

ABOUT THEWHISKAS BRAND

WHISKAS brand has been making food for cats since 1958 and we use this experience in everything we do. Not only are we committed to developing delicious products, were devoted to helping all cats live healthy and happy lives.

The WHISKAS brand is there for the whole journey as your cat grows with us, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our nutrition and care.

As the makers of WHISKAS we know and understand how much people love their cats we feel the same. We love them for their independent spirits but understand they still need love and care. We believe the best way to help owners provide that care is through understanding a cats most natural instincts. These natural instincts can be seen in their often mysterious and intriguing behaviour and it is through studying this behaviour that we have developed a better understanding of our feline friends than anyone else, so that we can help owners provide the very best care to their cats.

The makers of WHISKAS pride themselves on producing food that give cat owners the reassurance they are feeding their cat a healthy and tasty diet. We work with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition to develop products that constantly improve nutrition and care. We ensure all our meals are full of the natural goodness your cat instinctively needs as well as always being nutritionally complete and balanced, helping the worlds cats to live healthier and happier lives.