Puppy Smuggling PR Stunt
700 toy puppies, each representing a real smuggled puppy. A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.
Challenge
688 puppies are smuggled into the UK every year & the rate is increasing.
Despite the huge growth of this black market trading, public cognisance of the illegal puppy importation problem remains very low.
The illegal puppy importation scandal cannot be left to animal charities to fight alone and Dogs Trust hopes that the more people that know about the issue, the greater caution they can exercise when making the huge decision of welcoming a puppy into the family.
Solution
A 2m high billboard packed full of toy puppies for passers-by to take away for free revealing the stark hard hitting message about the dangers of buying puppies online via classified advertisements which fuels the puppy smuggling trade.
Those who take a toy dog from the billboard discovered the terrible journey their cute, new friend had to endure to get there via a web link on a puppy's collar.
Results
In one day, 17,000 members of the public saw the imposing experiential billboard. Within hours, all 750 puppies had been plucked and the PR stunt had gained national media coverage.
We hope that whether people pluck a dog from a billboard in the street or click a link in an online advert, the message is clear: it shouldn't be this easy to get a puppy!
Won 'Creative Out Of Home Awards' for Best Traditional Special Build
16,000
16,000 impressions on Twitter with #Puppy Smuggling trending on the day of the campaign
Major UK media outlet coverage, with the story making it onto one TV news channel and at least two online newspapers.
Experiential & Brand Activation
From concept to creation, production to activation & beyond, our Experiential & Brand Activation campaigns increase awareness & engagement.
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