Rare CATS Theater Poster “Dogs”—MINT—Only 100 Ever Printed—Clio Winner

The listing

I concepted, wrote and produced this poster way back in 1991 as part of a project I was working on for the road production of the very famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Cats.” I’ve been a writer in advertising for over 30 years and have won awards at all the major award shows, including the Cannes Festival. I had the idea of dogs sitting in theater seats to see “Cats” while I was driving to work in Cleveland one morning. I then rushed into the ad agency where I immediately told my art director the idea, and she laughed out loud for a solid couple minutes, followed by her being incredibly excited for us to produce this poster. While the producer of the play’s road production loved the idea, he said they had no budget to get it produced, but promised us if we could somehow make it happen, he’d give us 20 free tickets for opening night (amazing seats, front and center). We thought we’d have to do a lot of begging to get everything done for free, but once people heard the idea, they loved it and wanted to be a part of it. The photographer worked for free, knowing this would win him awards. I called a great dog trainer and told her we needed about 25 dogs who would listen to her commands to look at the camera while sitting in theater seats. Once she heard the idea she called the owners of her favorite dogs and passed along my promise that they would all get a free poster when printed. And speaking of printing, the printer also agreed to print 100 copies of the poster on their printing press for free because they wanted to be part of this. After each of the dog owners got their free posters, the rest were put up around Cleveland by me and my art director, and we both kept a few copies. The poster went on to be one of the most award-winning ads in advertising history, as it won at every major award show, won a Gold Clio for Best Entertainment Poster of 1992, and it won 5 Best of Show awards in major shows. The framed poster you see in the listing photo is the only Cats poster I possess, as I’ve given away my few other copies. It was gorgeously custom framed by high-end Artists Frame Service in Chicago, named “Chicago's Best Custom Picture Framer” by Chicago Magazine. The framed dimensions are a very sizable 33” W x 44” H. It’s a pretty sure bet that you will never see another of these Cats posters listed for sale, as there are only a handful still in existence. I’m parting with mine -- beautifully framed and spectacular -- for just $295. And as its creator, I would be happy to sign the back, if you wish. Happy to answer any questions. Dave