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The cat’s whiskers of a corporate match giving campaign
Howard Lake | 5 September 2026 | Blogs
Mars Petcare UK, owners of the WHISKAS® cat food brand, is running a humorous campaign targeting Channel 4, offering to double a donation to Battersea Dogs & Cats’ Home if the TV company plays with the ball of wool it has thrown across the floor.
The Whiskas team have taken out a full page colour advert on the back page of The Guardian, with the headline ‘Channel 4, we need [underlined] to talk”.
In a mocked-up letter packed with feline puns they are highlighting an update to their famous advertising campaign statistic that “8 out of 10 cats love WHISKAS®“. Their new “best ever” version of their product can now report “9 out of 10 cats love WHISKAS®“.
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Why Channel 4?
In 2005 the TV company started broadcasting a comedy show called “8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown”, combining the classic 1980s advertising claim with Channel 4’s longest running numbers and words quiz show, broadcast since the station first aired in 1982.
The WHISKAS® team’s letter acknowledges that the channel pays homage to its famous claim in the title, but there are “no hard felines, it was the purr-fect tribute”.
In a mock serious tone they invite Channel 4 to update the title to reflect their new, improved statistics.
“Since inaccuracy is a complete cat-astrophe, let’s sort this out and support a good cause”.
The company is celebrating its improved statistic by donating £10,000 to Battersea. They add: “and if your change your name to ‘9 out of 10 CATS does COUNTDOWN’ , we’ll double the donation”.
There are some terms and conditions of course. Mars Petcare UK will increase its donation to £20,000 + VAT if “8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown” alters its broadcast title or social media branding to “9 out of 10 Cats” by 11/09/2026″.
They add, humorously, “no purchase necessary”, that standby of consumer competitions’ terms.
A catalogue of positive corporate fundraising
This campaign has plenty of positive content, so it shouldn’t be anywhere near as difficult as herding cats:
- it’s humorous, and full of puns about cats
- it’s peer to peer, one brand to another
- the beneficiary (cats) is relevant to both brands
- the first donation is already in the bag (so the cat is out of the bag)
- it is seemingly a win-win approach for both businesses. Good fur both of them.
- Channel 4 isn’t being asked to match the £10,000 gift or even to make a donation: Mars Petcare UK will double its initial donation
- it’s public. Cat got their tongue? Channel 4 would find it hard not to respond positively
- the cost to Channel 4 to make the change asked is very modest. Altering social media branding, if that’s what they choose, is very low cost.
- there’s a likelihood that Channel 4 could make its own donation by playing ball (of wool) and increasing the total sum.
There’s no time for Channel 4 to cat nap. The WHISKAS® Team sign off with the Countdown phrase “Your time starts now”, and sign it with the imprimatur of a cat’s paw, giving it the stamp of approval. So, it’s meow or never. No time to paws.
Is it in the can? Are you kitten? It’s litter-ally the best back-of-a-newspaper fundraising campaign out there!
Do you have curiosity about why the VAT? Careful where that might lead. It’s not that VAT rhymes with cat. It’s simply that the donation will be made to Battersea Dogs’ and Cats’ Home Limited, which donates its profits to Battersea Dogs’ & Cats’ Home registered charity number 206394.
Battersea and Mars Petcare UK
Battersea has worked in partnership with Mars Petcare UK for more than 18 years, with support ranging from food donations, fundraising and expertise. Mars Petcare UK provides WHISKAS® food for Battersea’s rescue cats and has also supported the charity through nutritional training for staff, sponsorship initiatives and national campaigns.
The charity is focusing on the ‘nine out of 10 cats’ element to feature the ‘Battersea Nine’, nine rescue cats who are all currently looking for new owners.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.