out of 10 cats1
WHISKAS® had a new number. A Channel 4 panel show still had the old one. Four emails written in the voice of the cats asked their owners to help put that right, with a donation to Battersea riding on the answer.
SWC Partnership wrote the copy and helped build the campaign.
Case study: WHISKAS® email campaign, 31 August to 9 September 2026
The WHISKAS® ads of the 1970s and 80s made “8 out of 10 cats” part of the language. Channel 4 borrowed it for a comedy panel show, and the name later travelled to 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Then WHISKAS® launched its best ever recipe, and a 2025 study put the number at 9 out of 101. That left one small inaccuracy on national television, and a campaign idea that writes itself: let the cats complain.
The cats spoke through the WHISKAS® email list. Four emails over nine days, each one a step in a very polite argument with a broadcaster.
Did you know, the Channel 4 comedy panel show “8 Out of 10 Cats” borrowed its name from us? It’s true!
From email one, 31 August
Pick a subject line to jump to that email, or open any of them to read the full email.
Sent to WHISKAS® subscribers in the UK. Shown here with the reader’s name removed.
The opener asks for a memory before it asks for anything else: remember the old ads? Then it drops the hint. Something is coming on the @Whiskas Instagram, it involves telly, comedy and cats, and the cats themselves will be running the reveal.
Read the emailWe can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet, but keep those eyes peeled.
The reveal. Best ever WHISKAS® has landed, the number is now 9 out of 101, and Channel 4 receives a formal request on cat-headed paper: update the show to 9 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
£10,000 goes to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home either way. Change the title or the social branding by 11 September and it doubles2.
Read the emailNo hard felines, we cats always thought it was the purr-fect tribute.
Two days, no reply. The cats take it personally. This email turns the audience into the campaign: add your paw to the paw-tition, give Channel 4 a boop, and help rewrite TV history.
Read the emailThey wouldn’t ghost us cats, would they?
Channel 4 played along on social media, and WHISKAS® doubled its donation to £20,000. The final email hands out the thanks, the cuddles and one last nudge towards the food bowl.
Read the emailTV history? Sorted.
Before the 11 September deadline, Channel 4 answered on its socials with a 9 Out of 10 Cats tribute of its own. WHISKAS® kept its promise and doubled the donation to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home2.
for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, doubled from £10,000.
SWC Partnership wrote the copy for all four emails and helped build them, working with the WHISKAS® team. The words that landed in the inbox, and the way they carried a polite argument with a broadcaster across four sends, are the work we are showing here.
Every line is written as “we cats”, so the brand never has to ask for anything. The cats demand it, and the reader is on their side from the first sentence.
Purr-suade, paw-tition, cat-astrophe, no hard felines. Each lands once and moves on, so the joke never gets in the way of the ask.
Take a peep. Follow the campaign. Tap to vote. See their reply. Four emails, four clear things to do, in the order the story needed them.