A bakeneko is a form of cat ghost monster in Japanese folklore. There have been a number of fun movies made about them in Japan, especially in the 1950s and ‘60s. In these movies, a cat’s owner is betrayed and killed by someone, and when the cat laps up their blood, it imbibes their rage and thirst for vengeance, allowing the cat to command magical powers, like taking on the form of its victims, possessing people, controlling people’s bodies like puppets, cursing people, tricking compatriots into turning against one another, etc. It is common for the bakeneko to curse an entire family down to the last of their line, a curse that can span many generations for centuries. And in these movies, usually someone in modern times who is very distantly related to the original target of the curse finds themselves in the crosshairs of the bakeneko’s vengeance, and they have to turn to monks for help in prayer and sacrifice for the purpose of begging the bakeneko to stay its curse. And so I thought this would make a fun ad for cat treats, with the cat treats being the thing the victim uses to persuade the cat ghost to stop attacking them. (This ad concept would work best in Japan, I think.)
So the ad would go something like this: A couple moves into an old house, and a black cat there turns into a Japanese woman in an old-style kimono who then attacks the woman of the house. Then she is harassed by a man in Samurai armor, and she is hounded by the shadow of a cat and of monstrous meowing. The couple consult a Buddhist priest who tells them it’s a bakeneko, and they must be distantly related to one it had cursed in the past in the same house, and that they must offer the cat ghost something to try to get it to break the curse. So the couple both have a eureka moment and realize that (whatever brand of) cat treats are what cats love the most, with a taste so good it can wipe out generations of animosity. And so the next time the woman sees the shadow of the cat, she takes a bag of the cat treats, pour them out into her hands, and holds them out toward the cat’s shadow, saying: “Tama, please accept these scrumptious (whatever brand) cat treats as a peace offering, and please stay your curse.” And so the cat version of the bakeneko walks up, eats the cat treats, purrs, and fades away, indicating the ending of the curse. Then the announcer says that (whatever brand of) cat treats are so good, all cats love them, even bakenekos seeking vengeance!
(BTW: I love the bakeneko movies, and I’d love to see a new one made by Blumhouse someday soon, taking the original concept and putting a new spin on it, or updating it somehow. The Blumhouse supernatural horror movies are my absolute favorite movies made nowadays, they are so much fun!)
