DDB Begium and Pedigree Use Transit Posters as Signposts for Dog Walking Tours

Pedigree Belgium - Billboard Walking Tour

Wishing to encourage dog-owners to keep their dogs healthy by walking them at least 30 minutes a day, DDB Brussels and Pedigree transformed their bus shelter advertising into signposts to create a series of 7 guided walking tours around the Belgian cities of Brussels and Ghent.

Owners who shared posts about the walking tours on the Pedigree Facebook page could receive a free Pedigree surprise pack.

[via Ad Rants]

Belgium

Toronto Humane Society & Rethink Canada Partner to Keep Dogs Safe

Toronto Humane Society Dog SafetyToronto agency Rethink Canada has launched a campaign with the Toronto Humane Society to not only raise awareness of dogs dying from heat exhaustion when left in cars, but to offer solutions and warning systems for people who travel with their pet.

Of course, the best solution is to simply leave your dog at home, or have someone stay with the dog in the vehicle while necessary errands are done.

The first project in the campaign is the PSA embedded below. The ad drives people to dogfriendly.torotnohumanesociety.com, a web and mobile web-friendly site that uses geolocation to find stores and businesses near you that allow dogs. Next up is the launch of ‘Doggy Havens’, areas where dog owners can have Toronto Humane Society volunteers watch their pooches while they shop or run errands.

Finally is the development of the ‘Dog Caller’ (pictured above right), a dog collar containing a thermistor sensor and code chip that will alert an owner’s smartphone when the temperature reaches 26.5 degrees. The goal is for the collar and app to be available to the public in early 2013.

[via Strategy, the Star]

Canada

Beneful Launches Virtual Dog Parks for Stressed-out Commuters

Beneful Virtual Dog ParkLast week, dog food brand, Beneful surprised NYC commuters with a virtual dog park inside the Columbus Circle subway station. The 64 foot long interactive wall features a group of playful dogs of several sizes and breeds.

Motion-tracking cameras would watch as people walked by, triggering the dogs to start following them. The dogs then paw at the screen and bark to encourage the people to stand on one of the floor stickers, where gesture-tracking enabled them to play fetch with the virtual tennis balls on the interactive wall. After playing, commuters can choose to customize the dog of their choice and save a photo to their mobile phone to share on their social networks.

Street teams promoted the interactive wall by handing out tennis balls and flying discs to commuters. Beneful will also be launching interactive walls in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and St. Louis this May.

In a press release Beneful brand manager said, “At Beneful, we believe the power of PLAY enhances everyday experiences and enriches the time dogs and owners spend together. And, most city dwellers
would agree that their daily commute is definitely a time in need of some fun, carefree play. “We believe that using innovative, interactive billboards will encourage people to unleash their inner child and have some fun in unexpected places, with the help of our team of virtual dogs!”

The Beneful virtual dog park was created by InWindow Outdoor.

USA

Volkswagen’s Super Bowl Teaser Features Star Wars Dog Chorus

Volkswagen Star Wars Dog ChorusVolkswagen’s ‘the Force‘ ad was the runaway hit of last year’s Super Bowl (sorry, Game Day) ads and appeared at the top of several ‘best of’ lists at the end of the year.

It’s still more than two weeks til the big game starts in Indianapolis, and it looks like Volkswagen will again use a Star Wars theme in their ad creative. The teaser ad, titled ‘The Bark Side’ features a chorus of dogs barking the ‘Imperial March’. Included in the chorus are canine lookalikes for Darth Vader, Chewbacca and an Ewok.

The teaser links to a microsite where soon you’ll be able to create a Galactic Super Bowl invite for your friends.

The teaser video was created by Deutsch LA.

Find Your Doggie-Double Using Doggelganger

The Pedigree Adoption Drive - Doggelganger

It’s a common belief that people and their dogs can look-a-like. Using that idea as a launchpad, Pedigree has launched a human-to-canine matching site named Doggelganger to promote the Pedigree Adoption Drive.

The website, created by Auckland agency Colenso BBDO lets users upload a picture of themselves and then tries to match them with their doggie double.

Just check out my canine match, a handsome looking 2 year-old male Staffordshire Bull Terrier.