#WBD Blog

Pedigree Adoptable Award-Winning AI Campaign

A campaign that used AI to house dogs won a Cannes Grand Prix 2024 award. Pedigree’s ‘Adoptable’ innovative AI-driven campaign used machine learning models to bring real dogs from local shelters into Pedigree out-of-home media placements. AI technology was trained to recognise dog breeds and transform basic shelter dog photos into high-quality studio images. The new images were then transported into Pedigree outdoor ads, doubling as adoption promotions and helping dogs find homes.

Pedigree has a longstanding commitment to adoption, so this campaign has provided a dual purpose to not only promote Pedigree products but also shine a spotlight on adoptable dogs, amplifying efforts to tackle dog homelessness worldwide. Once a featured dog finds a home, it is removed from advertising circulation.

Since its launch in New Zealand, Adoptable has resulted in 50% of featured shelter dogs finding homes within the first two weeks, leading Mars to prepare for a global rollout.

Mars Petcare is doing lots of things that other brands just talk about. Its strategic journey into vertical integration, digital services and pet-centricity contains numerous example and best practice case studies. The revenue growth of the business is evidence enough that their bold thinking was sound.

At the heart of this is a business where the purpose – “A Better World for Pets”– is not just a marketing or positioning idea. It is a holistic idea built into the everyday functioning and strategic decision-making of the business. The business mission focuses single-mindedly on the health and well-being of pets (and their owners) and it goes beyond petfood. Vertical integration into veterinary businesses and digital services and support are examples of doing what other brands think about – these are true ‘money where your mouth is’ moments. Within this holistic approach to ‘a better world…’ pet adoption became a key point of brand relevance. It is also bringing the purpose to life in a way that drives emotional engagement. So, this AI-driven approach is not a gimmick or a clever example of effective AI execution but a small piece of brand building that stands on the shoulders of existing brand activity. A rare example of an initiative delivering tech fit and brand fit. To repeat, the commercial performance of Mars Petcare means we should all watch and learn…

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