Hasta La Motion!

Pedigree in New Zealand is promoting adoption with a campaign that pairs abandoned dogs with abandoned parents. The Pedigree Child Replacement program aims to connect adoption dogs with parents who find themselves alone after their kids move out. The integrated campaign drives parents to replacethem.co.nz where they can find the perfect canine substitute for their child, cheekily suggesting, ‘When your kids move out, move on’. Parents who adopt can even send in their child’s old possessions and PEDIGREE® will turn them into new possessions for their dog. Empty nesters (parents who find themselves living alone) often suffer from a sense of grief and loneliness when their children leave home. The Pedigree Child Replacement program gives parents the chance to bring the companionship, admiration, and unconditional love back into their lives just by adopting a dog. The campaign is presented through television (“Treehouse”, “Scared” and “Hard Man to Impress”), digital, radio, and press, as well as having a presence at the departure terminal of Auckland’s International Airport.

Says Cormac van den Hoofdakker, Marketing Manager of PEDIGREE®, “A dog can bring so much love, laughter and affection into a house. They bring out the best in you and fill your life with joy, just like kids do, only unlike kids they won’t grow up and move to London for work. We really hope we can get more dogs out of shelters and into homes that need them”.

Animal shelters around the country are full of dogs needing a home. At the same time, thanks to the country’s aging population, more than half of all New Zealanders are living in a household of two or less.

“All over the country there are parents sitting in quiet houses lamenting how quickly their kids grew up. At the same time there are dogs sitting in shelters longing for homes. We’re excited to connect the two.” Says Ahmad Salim, Business Director at Colenso BBDO.

Pedigree Child Replacement Credits

The Pedigree Child Replacement campaign was developed at Colenso BBDO, Auckland, with creative chairman Nick Worthington, executive creative director Steve Cochran, creative group head/art director Andre Sallowicz, creative group head/copywriter Simon Vicars, business director Abbi Barker, planner Ed Gunn, head of broadcast Jen Storey, senior producer Serena Fountain-Jones, senior activation & PR account manager Jaimie Crighton, executive digital producer Tim Freeman, digital producer Will Thorat, digital designer Dean Pomfrett, digital developer Dave Arcus, account manager Alice Sopwith and group business director Ahmad Salim working with Mars NZ marketing director Oliver Downs, PET marketing manager Cormac van den Hoofdakker, dog & specialty brand manager Maria Granados.

Photography by Will Bailey was retouched by Reks Kok.

Filming was shot by director Adam Gunser via Exit Films with producer Declan Cahill

Sound was designed at Franklin Rd.

Media was handled at Starcom NZ.