SHEBA Targets Cat Owner Frustration in ‘Ignored to Adored’ Campaign

SHEBA's new campaign is built around a feeling most cat owners know well, which is that their pet may be indifferent to their affections.

"Ignored to Adored" was developed in a fully integrated partnership with agencies AMV BBDO, Weber Shandwick, and Publicis.

It stars "White Lotus" actress Haley Lu Richardson as a real-life pet parent struggling to win over her own cat, Darbin.

The campaign runs across social, in-store, and digital channels, with Richardson sharing ongoing content from her life with Darbin as part of the 12-day program.

For brands in categories where the emotional payoff of ownership is central to the buying decision, this campaign shows how to create a product story out of a shared frustration.

A Consumer Insight That Does the Heavy Lifting

The campaign spots show Richardson writing Darbin a poem, wearing a necklace with his name on it, and even getting a tattoo of him.

However, his response has been largely indifferent.

The campaign is also grounded in research commissioned by parent company Mars, Incorporated.

It found that more than half of cat parents have questioned whether their cat actually likes them, and nearly two-thirds say they've felt ignored by their pet.

Fernando Silva, vice president of marketing at SHEBA US, told DesignRush the campaign is more than a product push.

"We built 'Ignored to Adored' around the insight that you could be universally loved and still ignored by your cat. Rather than trying to manufacture something overly polished or performative, we wanted to tell real stories," he explains.

"That’s what led us to Haley and Darbin. Haley is a real-life example of a cat parent doing everything she can to earn a little more affection from her cat. Her authentic struggle of feeling ignored made the content inherently shareable."

Cat ownership is already a category built on affection and personality.

Here, SHEBA is using a widely shared frustration to position its product as the practical solution that actually works when writing a poem for your cat doesn't deliver.

The money-back guarantee attached to the 12-day program also adds a layer of product confidence that reinforces the campaign's core claim.

The Casting Choice That Makes It Work

Richardson is widely known for her TV work, but this time, her fame does her no good at all.

She’s starred in one of HBO’s most talked-about series, yet she still can’t get her cat to give her the time of day.

This gap between public recognition and domestic irrelevance is the campaign's most effective creative device, and it works because it's all real.

"Darbin is totally indifferent to my attempts at winning him over," Richardson shared in a press release.

"I've tried everything from creating an original poem about him, wearing a necklace with his name on it, to getting a tattoo of him and he couldn't care less."

In this case, the actress works because her experience mirrors a behavior cat owners already recognize, making the humor land without needing exaggeration.

"Ignored to Adored" offers a few mechanics worth applying across pet, FMCG, and lifestyle categories:

• Anchor the campaign in research: A verified consumer stat gives the creative premise credibility and makes the product claim harder to dismiss.
• Give the talent an ongoing story: Richardson's content with Darbin runs outside of the launch, which keeps the campaign active.
• Build a measurable outcome: The 12-day program gives consumers a specific timeframe to expect results, which makes the promise more concrete.

Cats are also among the most widely-shared subjects on social media, and if owners start posting their own results, SHEBA gets more out of the launch.

Silva adds that in response to this, the campaign was designed to tap into something cat owners already do naturally.

"Cats are magnetic creatures with a natural ability to draw people in, both in person and online. That alluring relationship between cat and cat parent is at the heart of why SHEBA exists," he says.

"We know cat parents are constantly looking for ways to please their cats’ demands and strengthen their bond. That’s why cat content resonates so deeply: it’s rooted in real relationships."

Our Take: Is This More Than a Cute Cat Concept?

Honestly, we think it is. Most pet food ads drown in cuteness, but this one starts from a more honest place.

Richardson's cat acts like many typically do, and that is actually funnier and more watchable.

Cat content is one of the most popular things on the internet, and giving the actress real moments with Darbin to share means the campaign feeds this social media appetite.

Now, it's worth watching whether SHEBA can turn this into a recurring platform.

Richardson and Darbin have enough natural comic tension to sustain more than one campaign wave.

Pet brands building influencer-led campaigns need agencies that understand how to match talent to audience insight. 

Explore these top influencer marketing agencies in our directory.