Nestle Purina Dog Food Commercial Aimed At Dogs Uses High-Pitched Sounds To Grab Their Attention

A dog food manufacturer has taken advertising to another level: a canine one.

Nestle Purina's new Beneful dog food commercial contains squeaks, pings and high-frequency noises inaudible to most people in order to capture the attention of dogs near the television.

The company consulted with their animal experts in St. Joseph, Mo., to find out what sounds appealed to dogs, according to a press release. Nestle wanted to find out what made dogs wag their tails.

The commercial thus contains a squeak, similar to a dog toy; a whistle, barely heard by humans; and a high-pitched ping. (Scroll down to watch the ad.)

“Dogs who often play with a squeaky duck as they are running around with their owner will certainly react most strongly to [the squeak] sound,” a doctor stated in the press release.

The company acknowledges that not all dogs will react to the sounds, Gerardo Perez, a veterinarian and animal nutrition expert with Nestle Purina in St. Louis told the St. Joseph News-Press.

Measuring the ad's effectiveness on dogs might take some time, Time reports. "Imagine the plausibility of conducting a focus group for dogs," the news organization states.

In addition, the company's target consumer can't make the trip to the store and buy the product, but neither can children, the Christian Science Monitor points out.

Dogs "can make consumer choices only by proxy, presumably by pestering their owners," similar to how children bother their parents.

But could dogs' reactions to the ad be enough to drive their owners to make the purchase?

The 23-second ad is set to air in Austria. It's uncertain whether the commercial will launch elsewhere.