Editing Meow Mix

{{Short description|Cat food brand owned by The J.M. Smucker Company}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox brand
| name           = Meow Mix
| logo           = Meow mix brand logo.png
| logo_size      = 150
| logo_caption   = The current logo for Meow Mix
| producttype    = [[Cat food]]
| currentowner   = [[The J.M. Smucker Company|J.M. Smucker]]
| producedby     = 
| country        = United States
| introduced     = {{start date and age|1974}}
| discontinued   = 
| related        = 
| markets        = Worldwide
| trademarkregistrations = 
| ambassadors    = 
| tagline        = Tastes so good, cats ask for it by name
| website        = {{URL|https://www.meowmix.com}}
| module         = <!-- or: misc -->
| module1        = <!-- or: misc1 -->
| footnotes     =
}}
'''Meow Mix''' is a product of [[The J.M. Smucker Company]] (as of March 23, 2015); a variety of dry and wet [[cat food]] known for its advertising jingle. Meow Mix was introduced in 1974 and sells many flavors, including "Original Choice" and "Seafood Medley". It also is known for selling "Alley Cat" dry cat food. Their current slogan is "it's the only brand cats ask for by name".

== Overview ==
The Meow Mix Company operates from a {{convert|200000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility in [[Decatur, Alabama]], and produces Alley Cat brand cat food products. Originally a product of [[Nestlé Purina PetCare|Ralston-Purina]], Meow Mix was divested for [[antitrust]] reasons in the early 2000s. The brand was acquired by [[Del Monte Foods]] in May, 2006. Their most famous slogan is, "Tastes so good, cats ask for it by name." The company was acquired by [[Cypress Group]], a New York-based private equity firm in a $425 million leveraged buyout in 2003. Three years later, Del Monte Foods acquired the company for $705 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003-10-15 |title=Company News; Equity Firm Buys Cat Food Company for $425 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/15/business/company-news-equity-firm-buys-cat-food-company-for-425-million.html |access-date=2024-07-02 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-03-03 |title=Del Monte to Buy Meow Mix and Sell Some Food Units |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/business/del-monte-to-buy-meow-mix-and-sell-some-food-units.html |access-date=2024-07-02|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The company had also been owned by [[J. W. Childs Associates]] which acquired the business in 2001 for $160 million. On March 23, 2015, parent company Big Heart Pet Brands was acquired by [[The J.M. Smucker Company]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Corporate & Financial News Releases|url=http://www.jmsmucker.com/investor-relations/smuckers-financial-news-releases/article/2027898|website=Smucker Financial News – The J.M. Smucker Company|access-date=16 July 2015}}</ref> for $5.8 billion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Smucker to Buy Big Heart Pet Brands for $5.8 Billion
|date=February 3, 2015 |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/smucker-to-buy-big-heart-pet-brands-for-5-8-billion/}}</ref>

==Jingle==
<div style="zoom: 70%;">{{Image frame|content=<score sound raw>
\header { tagline = ##f }
\layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } }
global = { \key c \major \time 2/4 }
voiceA = \new Voice \relative c'' { \global \voiceOne
  c8 b a g | c b a g | c b c cis | d b a g |
  d' b a g | d' b a g | d' cis d dis | e c a g |
  a b c4 | g8 c f e | fis, fis g g | gis gis a a | b a b r8 | R2 | r8 e8 c4 \bar "|."
}
voiceB = \new Voice \relative c'' { \global \voiceTwo
  R2 | R2 | c8 b a gis | g g d d |
  g g d d | g g d d | g g b b | g g c, c |
  f f f f | c c d d | d d dis dis | e e fis fis | g g g r8 | R2 r8 g e4  \bar "|."
}
\score {
  \new Staff \with { \consists "Merge_rests_engraver" midiInstrument = "lead 1 (square)" } % "choir aahs" }
  <<
    \voiceA
    \voiceB
  >>
  \layout { }
  \midi { \tempo 4=102 }
}
</score>}}</div>
"The Meow Mix Theme" was written by [[Shelly Palmer]] in 1970.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2010-03-23 |title=The All-Time Catchiest Commercials |url=https://www.womansday.com/life/entertainment/a1401/the-all-time-catchiest-commercials-104970/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |magazine=[[Woman's Day]]}}</ref> The idea came from Ron Travisano, at the advertising agency of [[Della Femina Travisano and Partners]], who had the account with Ralston-Purina in 1974. The first TV spot aired in 1974 and consisted of animals walking across the screen.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmvJ7ZHIYKo|title=Early Meow Mix commercial – 1970's (2K film scan)|date=August 16, 2018|publisher=In16mm|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Travisano put together film footage with editor Jay Gold, looping footage of a cat, both in forward and reverse to make it look like it was "singing". The music was then composed by Tom McFaul of the jingle house [[Lucas/McFaul]], one of the major jingle-composing houses at the time. Working from Travisano's film, McFaul wrote and produced music to fit, with the actual [[cat communication|meowing]] performed by professional singer [[Linda November]].<ref>{{cite news|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=April 23, 1979|title=Jingle Giants|author=Gorfain, Louis}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jinglelady.com/|title=Jingle Lady|year=2011|access-date=June 10, 2011|author=November, Linda|publisher=jinglelady.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726142039/http://www.jinglelady.com/|archive-date=July 26, 2011}}</ref> Travisano then came up with the idea of adding English "translation" subtitles, along with a [[bouncing ball (music)|bouncing ball]] pointing out the words, which often reflected the specific flavor(s) of Meow Mix product being advertised and changed from commercial to commercial.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teaching the Pussy to Sing|url=http://www.tommcfaul.com/admusic/pussy.html|author=McFaul, Tom|publisher=tommcfaul.com|date=April 1, 2002|access-date=June 10, 2011}}</ref>

===Use in torture===
"The Meow Mix Theme" was used by the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] as part of [[Torture in the United States|torture]] and interrogation programs.<ref>{{cite web|title=How the CIA has used the Meow Mix jingle|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/how-the-cia-has-used-the-meow-mix-jingle-1.5527594|date=April 9, 2020 |work=[[CBC.ca]] |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=August 10, 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Think Like a Cat]]''
* [[Nestlé Purina PetCare]]
* [[Whiskas]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{official|https://www.meowmix.com/}}

{{Smucker's}}

[[Category:Cat food brands]]
[[Category:Animal food manufacturers]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Alabama]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1974]]
[[Category:Ralston Purina products]]
[[Category:Del Monte Foods brands]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in Alabama]]
[[Category:American brands]]
[[Category:Private equity portfolio companies]]
[[Category:The J.M. Smucker Co. brands]]