Virbac is an international animal pharma company based in France. They needed a launch campaign in North America for their new dental chew. They wanted the marketing to have real bite. Unfortunately the budget was missing some teeth. So it was time to get inventive.

First, we knew that while chews promote healthy teeth, research revealed that 74% of dog owners care most about one thing—bad breath. Second we recognized that most category work wasn’t particularly distinctive. Most were full of overly clinical claims and cute dogs.

So armed with this insight we created Mr. Squeakems to lead Virbac’s first direct-to-consumer campaign. After all, who has more to gain from fresher breath than a long suffering chew toy.

With a scroll-stopping mascot and smart targeting, halitosis turned into humor—and awareness into action. The campaign reached 4.2 million dog owners, drove 85% higher sales than Virbac’s previous bestseller, and fetched five VETTY Awards along the way. Solid work for a $3 chew toy.