The Band Perry Double Dog Dares Purina Dog Chow Customers

Neil, Kimberly and Reid Perry join their Great Pyrenees and Corgis on behalf of Purina Dog Chow. photo: courtesy Purina Dog Chow

By Bob Doerschuk
© 2011 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.
Just before Christmas, Rob Beckham, responsible agent for The Band Perry at the Nashville office of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, noticed an e-mail coming in from his colleague Todd Jacobs in the agency’s Beverly Hills office.
“He asked if we had any artists who are pet lovers,” Beckham remembered. “Basically, Purina Dog Chow wanted somebody up-and-coming to be part of a program they were about to launch. As it happens, I was putting together a benefit that The Band Perry was doing for a humane society in their hometown of Greeneville, Tenn. So it was like a perfect storm.”
Before you could say “happy new year,” the Perry siblings — Kimberly, Neil and Reid — were smiling for the cameras with three of their four dogs as spokespersons for Purina’s Double Dog Dare Contest. (The fourth member of the brood, a Great Pyrenees, stayed home because there wasn’t room in the car they had to drive over icy roads on their way to the 10-hour shoot.)
“We called this contest the Double Dog Dare because we had improved our product and we were so confident that our customers would like it that we figured, why not dare them to try it risk free, with their money back if their dogs don’t love it,” said Arik Frankel, Assistant Brand Manager, Purina Dog Chow. “Then we thought it would be even better if we allowed consumers the chance to dare us back.”
The contest ran from Jan. 25 through Feb. 28 on www.LongLiveYourDog.com and www.DareDogChow.com. Three winning dares were picked, with the company tackling one per month from March through May: Lauren Doak of Houston, Texas, who dared the company to create a dog-friendly family fun walk to benefit The American Legion and Houston’s Animal Shelter and Adoption Center; Susan McClamrock of Concord, N.C., who challenged Purina to help train service dogs for veterans by donating to Carolina Patriot Rovers; and Donnie Genton of Memphis, Ind., on whose behalf The Band Perry will take part in a charity dog wash April 29 to benefit The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, Fla.
The Perrys proved ideal spokespersons, beginning with a media day in Los Angeles late in January. “They really do consider their dogs to be part of their family,” said Frankel. “The quirky, kind of rascally tone we were trying to convey reminded us of the relationships that siblings have with each other. And it goes without saying that a lot of dog lovers listen to Country Music and follow the band.”
The Republic Nashville band, whose self-titled debut album features the No. 1 and Platinum-selling song “If I Die Young,” benefited from the partnership as well. “If you’re a mom in charge of purchasing food for the family pet, you might come across the advertisement or the billboard and think not only about buying Purina for your dog but also, ‘Where have I seen this band before?’” said Kates Snyder, who manages The Band Perry at Bob Doyle & Associates. “Hopefully they connect the dots as far as this band representing the love they have because they are siblings and also for their extended family, their pets. We believe a lot of people have those values and we know that Country Music reflects these joys of life.”
On the Web: www.DareDogChow.com; www.LongLiveYourDog.com; www.TheBandPerry.com