Mayhew's Black Friday Campaign Spotlights Why Rescuing an Adorable Cat Is the Best Deal You Can Get

Today, animal welfare charity Mayhew has partnered with Havas London to launch a new tactical OOH campaign - #BlackCatFriday.

Shining a light on the number of black cats and kittens who are currently in need of a home, the campaign is inspired by findings from Mayhew, which found that black cats take twice as long to be adopted (1).

Launching on Black Friday, the OOH campaign features a number of adorable black cats and kittens, showing in a fun and tongue-in-cheek way how they’re a better investment than a flat screen TV or new iPhone, as the public hunts for deals this Black Friday.

Sitting across several OOH sites, including Caledonian Road, Queens Park and White City, the OOH includes eye-catching and witty copy which relays the campaign’s sentiment including; ‘Guaranteed 3x more entertainment than any 62’ plasma’, with outdoor media gifted by LondonLites. The campaign will also feature in the Metro.

Elvira Meucci-Lyons, chief executive, Mayhew said, “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with Havas London on such a visually exciting campaign, and on such a monumental day in the advertising calendar! We really hope it will make people stop and think about whether they can open their home to a black cat in need.”

“There are many theories as to why black cats take longer to be adopted; from superstitious reasons, to being considered unlucky or even being viewed as less photogenic than other cats. What is clear is that these wonderful creatures are just as deserving of a loving home as any other animal.”

Amy Fasey, associate creative director, Havas London added, “It’s been a pleasure to work with the team at Mayhew to bring this project to life. We think they’re amazing for all their vital work in animal welfare across London and the rest of the world. Every animal deserves a loving home, and black cats are often wrongly ignored because they’re ‘not as good for a selfie’. Hopefully this Black Friday people will consider forgetting the new tech for a new furry friend in their lives instead. We’re big animal lovers here at Havas, I myself grew up with a black cat called Bubbles who was a right character… she made us all laugh more than any TikTok could do."

(1) Findings from Mayhew show that it has taken approximately double the time to rehome black cats than ginger cats in the past year, Nov 2023 - Nov 2024. On average, it took 84 days for black cats to be adopted compared to 43 days for ginger cats.