Take Me To Purradise: How Whiskas Is Immersing Feline Satisfaction

Whiskas is a brand that has been feeding felines since the 1950s, with messaging that holds the happiness of the four-legged household furballs at its heart. Since 2021, this has come in the form of brand platform ‘Purr More’ - recognising that a cat’s purr is a sign of happiness and trust. 

The latest installment of its platform is the global campaign ‘Purradise’, developed in collaboration with Weber Shandwick, AMV BBDO, EssenceMediacom, DOOH.com and GroupM OOH, which first rolled out across Europe in January. Its aim: to take cats and their 'parents' to the ultimate destination of feline satisfaction, while shining a light on Whiskas’ classic favourites and new offerings. 

The multi-million-pound campaign offers an immersive consumer experience, featuring digital, social, out-of-home, radio and in-store activations. Making a real mark for audiences to see, a 3D digital OOH experience was showcased in London’s iconic Piccadilly Circus at the start of March, which included QR codes for passers-by to scan and play the pet-loving, interactive game ‘Purradise Run’. 

Alongside, consumers could also fancy their chances at winning one of several prizes up for grabs, from the new 2025 Whiskas Aromatic Selection to, for one lucky winner, a cash prize of £5,000 from a entering a draw when playing the game.

Whiskas’ European brand director Annie Argyle explains the origins of the work and its reception so far.

Creative Salon: Where did the concept of Purradise originate - what was the initial brief that led to the platform and the resulting activations?

AA: In 2022, Whiskas launched a new global brand platform, Purr More, which centres on the idea that the purr is the ultimate sign of cat enjoyment. For the latest consumer instalment, we wanted to create a campaign that would help bring to life the tasty and varied product range of Whiskas, encouraging cat parents to try the full portfolio.

And this is when Purradise was born - a new global concept created in partnership with AMV BBDO’s incredible creative team and brought to life alongside our cross-channel partners Weber Shandwick (PR), EssenceMediacom, DOOH.com and Mars United Commerce. Purradise is designed to celebrate the ultimate destination of cat happiness. A light-hearted and imaginary land filled with gravy rivers and laundry mountains, and all cats need to get there is a tasty bowl of Whiskas food.

Featuring six lands, each Purradise territory satisfies the different needs of cats, through highly nutritious and delicious Whiskas meals. From lounging on mouse pedalos at Gravy Lake to basking in heavenly scents on Aroma Island or scaling Mount Crunch for kibble rewards, each land is a vibrant, sensory world that captures the essence of cat contentment.

To really captivate our audience, the Purradise lands were meticulously crafted in the studio with a cat-first approach to material selection. The social media films, directed by Isabel Garrett through BlinkInk, were shot using in-camera stop motion, with CGI used only for the kibble storm around Mount Crunch. Every other element was built as a physical set.

At Whiskas , we understand that for pet parents, purrs are precious and hard-earned but deeply rewarding. With a mission to make all cats purr more, we’ve put our tasty product range at the heart of Purradise—a guaranteed way to bring more purrs to our feline friends.

CS: What does this communicate most about the Whiskas brand?

AA: Building on over 60 years of crafting high-quality cat food and feline expertise, we wanted this new campaign to showcase the variety of our product range. Cats are diverse, curious, and full of personality, and we want to provide them with tasty food that we know they love and gives them everything they need to be happy and healthy. After all, we know that ‘purrs’ are hard earned sometimes, but tasty food is the ultimate way to win them over.

At Whiskas, our mission is simple - to create a world with more happy, contented cats where they feel free to be themselves! Purradise is the ultimate articulation of our mission and we’re so excited to be celebrating this moment with feline lovers all over the world.

CS: Why take this down the gamification route?

AA: A recent study from Mars Petcare uncovered that a new generation of pet parents is here - with nearly half (47 per cent) of them being first time pet parents and Gen Z and Millennials showing the strongest emotional connection to their pets.

With this in mind, connecting with our cat parents where they are, online and across different digital channels, is of top priority of ours. For the Purradise campaign we wanted to invest heavily in digital-first solutions using data to deliver the content that is most relevant to them.

We wanted to bring Purradise to life in a way that was fun, interactive, and rewarding for cat parents. The gamification route is our way of celebrating the joy cats bring us, whilst also giving players (cat parents) the chance to win prizes as they engage with the world of Purradise. It’s about creating a friendly and interactive space for connection and community.

CS: The development of a 3D OOH element shows that you have a major belief in the medium - why is that?

AA: We wanted to bring a glimpse of Purradise to life and create an immersive experience for our audience and passersby in Piccadilly Circus. This medium allows us to truly transport consumers into the vibrant, multi-sensory world that is Purradise - we feel 3D storytelling enhances the engagement and allows for creative way to communicate our mission, recreating a feline paradise in an iconic location such as Piccadilly.

CS: What expectations and targets have you set this year around this campaign?

AA: Our goal for Purradise is to encourage cat parents everywhere to take their cats to Purradise by trying any one of our delicious portfolio of products. The aim of the campaign was to support the full portfolio as well as our new Aromatic Selection innovation that’s launching now - Purradise is the perfect way to showcase the tasty variety available!

CS: The concept began earlier this year - what has the response been so far?

AA: We launched the campaign in Europe in January, with markets activating locally throughout the year. The response has been incredibly positive so far - it’s amazing to see so many people resonating with our mission and celebrating the joy and satisfaction of cats. The positive reception has been exciting, and we’re looking forward to building on this momentum, continuing to engage with cat lovers, and strengthening our bond with their furry companions.

CS: What has been the most significant challenge in developing the campaign?

AA: I wouldn’t say a challenge but more of a priority for us - the concept of the campaign is that a delicious bowl of Whiskas is the ‘portal’ to Purradise so ensuring that this narrative and story was consistent as the campaign expands across all the different digital, social, PR and in-store touchpoints was important! We want Purradise to resonate and be celebrated for what it truly is with our cat parents throughout Europe.

CS: What has inspired you recently in your role?

AA: It may sound a little cliché, but I find it really inspiring working on Whiskas - which is our largest brand in Pet Nutrition Europe and with it comes a huge legacy. It’s a brand very close to my heart as I started my marketing career as the junior brand manager on Whiskas in the UK. it’s been incredible to witness and be part of the brand journey that’s led us to where we are today.

Working together with fantastic agency partners and our internal regional and global team to build on the strength of the Whiskas legacy whilst continuing to push our marketing approach into new and exciting territories is what drives me. These new ‘ways in’ are fuelled by focusing on data driven marketing to connect with our cat parents where they are and Purradise is the epitome of that.

CS: What’s your biggest challenge as a marketer?

AA: The marketing world is constantly evolving and as a marketer you have got to always be one step ahead.I believe the key challenge today for a marketer is how to drive cut through and directly engage with our cat parents in the right place, at the right time and where they are. This is why Purradise is such an exciting campaign across so many different channels and touchpoints for us and we really wanted to show up where it matters the most for our audience.