The UK’s largest canine welfare charity, Dogs Trust, is aiming to boost support with a new integrated brand campaign designed to show owners and their dogs how they are the best partner to support them through life.
In the charity’s first campaign since appointing VCCP – and its first since 2019 – the new activity aims to set a vision for the charity as it moves to reframe Dogs Trust as a charity that supports owners and their dogs through all stages of life.
As a result of the cost of living crisis Dogs Trust has seen an overwhelming increase in owners feeling like they have no choice but to give up their dogs because they cannot afford to keep them, receiving over 1,000 calls a week.
This is why the charity is launching the Ground Dog Day campaign which, implicitly connected to the cost of living crisis, dials up help and support dog owners and their dogs so owners can get from Dogs Trust so they do not have to lose their animals.
Understanding the special bond dog owners have with their dog and the joy that it brings is the main driver for the charity, whose aim is to protect and preserve it.
It is claimed that when people own a dog, their relentless positivity makes the repetition of everyday activities a joy; the harder life gets the more dogs mean to their owners.
Dogs Trust has now created a film that shows the joy that dogs bring. The film opens with a man sleeping in bed before a dog excitedly jumps on the bed and wakes him up. They cuddle and play and he says “alright mate, come on” while laughing. They prepare to go for a walk and the dog grabs some slippers before they go to the park.
They are stopped by a mother and daughter and the owner introduces Milo the dog and then they play fetch. He visits a pub with his friends, then feeds Milo and goes through life’s routines before it repeats a few times, showing the role they play in everyday life and the joy they give.
Throughout the film the owner laughs and talks to Milo saying “hungry were you?” “There you are” and “Good night mate”. It ends with him sitting on the bed before Milo barks and jumps up on the bed and they cuddle and play. He laughs and says: “Where was my wake up?”
The film is backed by four 10″ social videos, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Help’, ‘Recall’ and ‘Support’ that aim to give dog owners simple and quick advice, delivered in a positive way.
The first video ‘Behaviour’ shows a dog ripping up different household items such as letters and slippers and tells the owner how this could be a sign that the dog is distressed.
‘Help’ shows a dog eating on different days and lets people know that Dogs Trust has partnered with Fairshare to provide dog food for UK Food Banks. ‘Recall’ shows a dog being called by its owner in the park and highlights how Dogs Trust has recall training available. And ‘Support’ shows a dog with an injury collar sitting in its dog bed and lets owners know that Dogs Trust might be able to help with veterinary bills.
The campaign will run from today for four weeks and run across be on social media, TV and out of home. Media has been planned and executed by The 7 Stars. Dogs Trust also worked with VCCP’s content production studio Girl&Bear on campaign social assets.
Dogs Trust marketing director Nick Daniel said: “The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on dog owners. We’re receiving an unprecedented amount of calls from people who feel like they have no other choice but to give up loved family dogs because they can no longer afford to keep them.
“This is why we have created this campaign to highlight all the various ways we can help and keep them and their families together with their dogs. We want to celebrate dogs and the joy they bring us and keep them in the place they are most happy.”
VCCP London managing partner Sophie Maunder added: “Like the 12.7 million dog owners in the UK, Dogs Trust understands how important the bond between owner and dog is, and believes in protecting that bond through help, support and advice. VCCP is excited to launch the first of the campaign executions to help the British dog loving community join that journey.”
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