Pedigree Charity Campaign Wins Gold At Global Awards

The Pedigree Adoption Drive 'Donation Glasses' campaign has been awarded a Gold Lion at the Cannes Festival of Creativity in France this week.

The 'Donation Glasses' campaign won the Gold Lion in the Promo & Activation category beating out 6,000 other international campaigns for its utilisation of ground-breaking technology.

The campaign which combined the efforts of MARS NZ Ltd, Total Media, Impact PR and Colenso BBDO utilised advanced technology which allowed two differing films to be viewed on a cinema screen at the same time with the use of specially designed glasses, similar to 3D.

The technology, created by Finch, was brought to life by The Pedigree Adoption Charitable Trust's annual campaign, which aims to give the thousands of dogs abandoned every year in New Zealand a second chance at life.

Pedigree marketing manager Oliver Downs says he is thrilled with the Gold Lion award, following on from the success of last year's Doggelgänger campaign which also won Gold at the CAANZ Media Awards last month.

"Once again we have successfully used breakthrough technology to bring home the messaging of our Adoption Drive, communicating the plight of some of the 11,000* Kiwi dogs abandoned by their owners each year," says Downs.

"The concept was based around the difference a donation can make. During the campaign cinema visitors were asked to make a choice between a free pair of glasses and a pair that require a donation. Depending on which glasses they chose, their experience differed accordingly," he says.

"Two versions of the 2012 Pedigree Adoption Drive advertisement played - one, showing an abandoned dog Buzz, viewed by those wearing the free glasses, while footage of Buzz after he is rescued, re-homed, happy and healthy is seen through the glasses of those who donated to the cause. A singular voiceover connected both advertisements."

Now in its fourth year in New Zealand, The Pedigree Adoption Drive Charitable Trust helps feed, care for and re-home abandoned dogs, raising awareness and funds for animal shelters and desperate dogs in local communities.

Its previous Doggelgänger campaign also won Bronze at the Cannes Festival of Creativity last year.

Since 2009, the charity has raised just over $160,000 on behalf of parent company MARS to support shelters and organisations such as the RNZSPCA, German Shepherd Rescue Trust and Paw Justice.

For more information on the Pedigree Adoption Drive and how you can help visit www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.co.nz