The Internet really is a boon for pet-food marketers clever enough to capitalize on animal-obsessed Web culture without seeming too mercenary.
Pedigree New Zealand gets extra brownie points for this video of cute dogs being cute, which attempts to leverage YouTube's revenue-sharing model to raise money for dog charity … as if you needed another reason to watch dachshunds eating hot dogs. (No, it's not cannibalism, though it might count as a sort of professional discourtesy.)
The concept is all the more impressive in the way it take two things that are usually annoying—seeing ads on other ads, and being asked to share ads—and makes them kind of feel-good (even if, given YouTube's meager ad rates, it's hard to imagine the campaign actually making significant money).
Regardless, the spot, by Colenso BBDO, is a knockout delight when measured against the high bar for misery-inducing commercials in the pet-adoption genre. Unlike the Sarah McLaughlin ASPCA sob fest that haunts an entire generation of U.S. TV viewers, this one doesn't hinge on making everyone feel awful about themselves.
Plus, the dogs are awesome to watch. Except for that winking puppy at the end, which clearly needs help for having confused itself with a cat. Only cats are supposed to be creepy.
Credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Pedigree
Agency: Colenso BBDO, New Zealand
Creative Chairman: Nick Worthington
Creative Director: Levi Slavin
Senior Copywriter: Matt Lawson
Copywriter: Ben Polkinghorne
Art Director: Scott Kelly
Business Director: Helen Fitzsimons
Senior Social, Digital Strategist: Neville Doyle
Senior Planner: Tamsin McDonnell
Production Company: Finch
Director: Nick Ball
Executive Producer: Rob Galluzzo
Producer: Karen Bryson
Associate Producer: Amy Dymond
Director of Photography: Crighton Bone
Production Designer: Sara Mathers
Animal Wranglers: Animal House
VFX Supervisors: Andrew Timms, Mat Ellin
Offline: Method Studios
Editor: Seth Lockwood
Visual Effects: Beryl
Grade: Pete Ritchie
Flame: Andrew Timms, Mat Ellin
Sound Design: Franklin Rd
Composer: Jonathan Dreyfus