Morris the Cat, whose 9Lives cat food ads from the '70s and '80s are all over YouTube, shakes off the cobwebs and joins the 21st century in the brand's new campaign—becoming the first cat to wear goofy smart-cam glasses in "Cat's Eye View," a sort-of-ARG interactive experience from agency EVB.
There's a video trailer below, but the full experience is at 9lives.com/CatsEyeView, where a short introductory video that introduces Morris's wearable technology and invites you to join him on a journey around the house.
You can guide Morris through a series of interactive prompts that show him doing typical cat things: watching goldfish, ruining black dress pants, unraveling toilet paper, and so on. The game has a few Easter eggs in it, too, like coupons for 9Lives and a downloadable poster of Morris in his dorky Internet glasses.
It's a game in the same way that later sequels of Final Fantasy were games—mostly cut scenes with moments of brief, fleeting control for the viewer.
The peek into Morris's life is cute and fun, though. And since cats are total jerks in real life, Morris's sardonic running commentary is familiar and not grating.
Campaign poster and credits below.
CREDITS
Client: 9Lives
Campaign: "Cat's Eye View"
Agency: EVB
Executive Creative Director: Steve Babcock
VV/Group Creative Director: Patrick Maravilla
Associate Creative Director: David Byrd
Art Director: Tyler Jensen
Senior Copywriter: David Satterfield
Logo Animation: Kevin Brown
Senior Interactive Producer: Kevin Turner
Senior Film Producer: Jamie Shuster
Production Company: Every Day Is Like Sundae
Director: Simon Mowbray
Executive Producer (Production Co): Blythe Dalton Klippsten
Producer (Production Co): Tina Starkweather
Director Of Photography: Simon Thirlaway
Post Production: Ntropic
Editorial Company: Ntropic
Music Company: Ntropic
Composer: Aaron Robinson
Sound Design Company: Lime
Sound Designer: Matt Miller
Visual Effects Company: Ntropic
Visual Effects Editor: Simon Mowbray
VP/Director of Account Management: Kathleen Foutz
Account Manager: Laura Miley
Director of Technology: Ken Goldfarb
Web Development Company: Black and Red Inc.
Lead Developer: Phillip Epstein