Cannes Lions
J. WALTER THOMPSON, Sydney / SYDNEY DOGS & CATS HOME / 2016
Overview
Entries
Credits
Description
Human attempts hadn't worked, so we took the rescue dogs to the street to protest in cardboard boxes saying #AlmostHomeless, right outside his office in the CBD. The activation intended to stop people (and politicians) in their tracks and ask them to pledge their support via a petition.
Within 24 hours we got the 10,000 signatures we needed to lobby government and the Premier said on national TV that night: 'If there is an opportunity to help, we are very keen to do so'.
Execution
With time running out for the home, they asked us to act fast. We took over the Sydney CBD with an activation to highlight the shelter's plight to the city population who perhaps without realising it, depend on them to take care of the animals they love. We placed dogs in makeshift cardboard boxes throughout Sydney CBD with signs saying #AlmostHomeless to create mass awareness about the shelter's plight and a call-to-action to sign a petition to motivate the government to give the shelter a new home. The idea was simple and easy to execute, which was crucial given the urgency. In fact we turned it around in a matter of days, including creating video content and images from the stunt to encourage people to share and sign the online petition. However the idea gave it impact and scale far broader than a simple petition would have achieved.
Outcome
It was hard not to notice the activation. Within 24 hours, we gathered 10,000 signatures at the event and online. It was broadcast live from one of Australia's key TV stations (Channel 7) and covered on all major news channels that night. The ABC ran an in-depth segment and Sydney's most influential newspaper 'The Sydney Morning Herald' ran a key cover piece on the story. Celebrities like Jamie Durie (one of Australia's favourite television personalities and regular on Oprah) came down with his dog to show support. The video content was shared on the influential MamaMia blog and got 55K views that day. Most importantly we got the shelter's plight on the Premier's radar. He responded on national TV saying: 'If there is an opportunity to help, we are very keen to do so'. The charity also raised over $15,000 as an unexpected side-benefit.
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