Pedigree's "Feed the Good" campaign taps into how dogs help people reconnect with their innate innocence and bring out the good in each other. Extensive research on the health benefits of human-dog interactions revealed dogs' unique ability to live in the moment and love unconditionally. The global campaign uses emotional stories to show how dogs help people overcome challenges like bullying and gang violence by fostering attitudes of acceptance, hope and compassion. By placing Pedigree at the heart of why dogs and their care matters, the unified campaign has driven sales up 10% on average worldwide and established the brand's presence on the emotional high ground of the dog food category globally.

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FEED THE GOOD

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This is the story of how Pedigree uncovered an insight with truly transformative
potential that reclaimed the emotional high ground of its category and united
its markets around the world under one powerful global campaign that drove
the business.
Tapping into archetypes and cutting-edge scientific research from the Waltham
Center for Pet Nutrition, it is also the story of how smart strategic inquiry dug
deep to understand exactly why dogs are so special to us and what difference
they truly make in our lives. This exploration not only helped us to uncover an
insight and direction with tremendous depth and richness of territory to explore,
it gave Pedigree (both brand and food) a clear role to play.
Ultimately it is a story of how planning led to a breakthough award-winning
campaign idea in “Feed the good” that has brought creativity and emotion to
the brand. And, as a result, it has been adopted around the world, across all
media, to much success.
SUMMARY
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Pedigree is the world’s oldest and most popular dog food brand. Every year, it is
fed to 75 million dogs around the world.
Despite being the leader for many years, in the early 2010s Pedigree found itself
up against a number of challenges. The dog food category had become highly
competitive, the product portfolio increasingly complex, and the brand was facing
very different market needs – from growing the category in emerging markets to
fighting for share in developed markets.
Pedigree also has a rich communications heritage, and to this day many people
still remember the long-running “Top Breeders Recommend” campaign. But that
campaign ended nearly two decades ago. Since then, its communications around
the world had become fragmented and increasingly product focused.
The brand had lost its ability to connect and needed a unifying story that the markets
around the world could rally around to simplify the complexity and protect it from
a battle around functionality or price.
THE BACKGROUND
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Around 2005, Pedigree launched a new campaign, “We’re for Dogs,” in
a few key markets. The idea was a celebration of how great dogs are and
how everything Pedigree did was “for the love of dogs.” It gave the brand
purpose and attached it to the emotional high ground of the category.
But, it only scratched the surface. It didn’t get under the skin of why we
love dogs so much or why they matter in our lives.
THE CHALLENGE
Dogs rule.®
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And, critically, it didn’t have a clear role for the food. To compensate,
a product-specific campaign was developed that had absolutely no
emotional underpinning. It featured infographics, product claims, and
a yellow seamless background. Because it focused on the food, it was
picked up and applied in different ways by the markets and given
support over more emotional communications. Unsurprisingly, it failed
to move the needle.
We found ourselves without a big idea. Our communications were
fragmented, inconsistent, and really missed the impact of a strong
emotional storyline.
We needed a better solution – one that reminded people why dogs
matter and, by implication, why feeding them well matters; placing
our brand at the heart of the category.

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Drive the business globally with a unified campaign that
plants Pedigree’s flag on the emotional high ground of
its category worldwide.
THE OBJECTIVE
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We started with a study we had been conducting over the course of
five years at the Waltham Center for Pet Nutrition, the science center
for Mars Petcare and a worldwide leading scientific authority in pet
nutrition and well-being. The study, “Health Benefits of Human-Animal
Interaction,” focused on uncovering the multitude of benefits that
dogs bring to our lives – and helped us understand more deeply the
incredible impact dogs have on our health and well-being, everything
from heart health to depression, social support/interaction and
building community.

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We now understood that dogs occupy a unique place in the animal
kingdom. Evolved from wolves, they have retained the social instincts
of pack animals. And shaped by over 30,000 years of domestication,
they have developed a unique, symbiotic relationship with people.
This privileged bond – the reason dogs are often called “man’s best
friend” – is mutually beneficial. While modern-day dogs depend on
people for care, shelter and survival, people who own dogs are also
profoundly transformed by this relationship in countless ways, which
are often surprising and always positive.
THE SCIENTIFIC TRUTH
Dogs are good for people. Owning a dog is an experience that
transforms us for the better.
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Next, we needed to articulate our brand story
and tell it in an impactful way – and clarifying
the brand’s archetype is a great way to do this.
In the “Top Breeders” days, Pedigree’s story
was about expertise and excellence. One might
argue that Pedigree was behaving as a “Ruler”
in the category. But that stance was no longer
one that we could credibly own, as the category
had matured. Nor was it a desirable role for a
mainstream brand such as Pedigree. We needed
to move from autocracy to democracy, from
being “the best” to becoming “the reference,”
from “top dogs” to “all dogs.”
Our new archetype should therefore reflect the
role dogs play in our lives – and that was the
“Innocent.”
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THE CULTURAL TRUTH
As a species, we have a hard time retaining the qualities of innocence we
all enjoy as children. As we grow up, we can become jaded, cynical and
competitive. We forget how to enjoy the present. We judge others, feel
judged by them and close our minds.
Modern living exacerbates this, making our lives more hectic and
fragmented and us ever more disconnected from the world around us.
We concluded that this elusive quality of innocence that we had as children
is the secret of genuine happiness, yet it is so hard to capture (and keep) in
today’s world.
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THE INNOCENCE OF A DOG
The amazing thing about dogs is that they never lose their innocence. They
live in the moment. They love unconditionally. They never judge.
In a world that’s getting ever more complicated, we all need to reconnect
with the simple things that make us feel safe and remind us how good life
is – and dogs do precisely that.
Therefore, when we think about why we love dogs. It is simply because
their innocence helps us regain the ability to enjoy the simplest things
in life. They inspire us to become better people, help us enjoy simple
pleasures, appreciate simple moments and love without holding back.
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Our Insight:
Dogs are good for people because their innocence helps us reconnect
with our own.
The Creative Strategy:
Our work would remind the world why dogs are so special as a species by
showing how the good in dogs brings out the good in us.
INSIGHT &
CREATIVE STRATEGY
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Feed the good
THE CREATIVE IDEA
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The work itself taps into poignant societal themes, calling attention to the
way dogs affect people’s attitudes and behavior for the better, and the
role Pedigree plays in feeding a dog’s good nature. It tackles topics such
as race relations, bullying, gang violence, self-esteem and health face on –
and shows how dogs are able to help us to confront and overcome them.
It launched in 2015 and has come to life all over the world – including but
not limited to Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.
THE CREATIVE WORK
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Here is just a sample of the TV work:
“The Walk” (US): Dogs help the tension dissipate when an older white man and
younger African American teenager meet on the street.
“School Kids” (RUS): Threatening schoolyard bullies approach a boy carrying
something hidden under his jacket, but when he reveals an adorable puppy, their
tough façade melts away.
“First Days Out” (BRA): Two young men, recently released from prison, find hope
with new canine companions.
“Rescued” (US): A veteran adopts a shelter dog who has also been through a lot.
The spot supported Pedigree’s long-standing commitment to adoption; and Dan
Lasko, the veteran, really did adopt the dog.
“pUp Syndrome” (RUS): Pedigree partnered with a dog hotel to help provide
gainful employment for people with Down Syndrome and ensure that they (and the
dogs) benefit from the companionship and the new sense of purpose.
“Hearts Aligned” (AUS): Pedigree demonstrates the real psychological and
physiological benefits that owning a dog brings through studying the heart rates of
people when they are with (and without) their dogs.
There are just too many ideas to go on. But they have one thing in common – they
are all born from the big idea of “Feed the good.”
“The Walk” (US)
“First Days Out” (BRA) “Rescued” (US)
“pUp Syndrome” (RUS) “Hearts Aligned” (AUS)
“School Kids” (RUS)

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THE OUTCOME
“Feed the good” has been adopted around the world and given Pedigree
a clear and singular meaning and identity, where it once had none. It
delivers on a profound universal insight and supports the Mars Petcare
mission, to build “A Better World for Pets.”
We set out to “drive the business globally with a unified campaign that
plants Pedigree’s flag on the emotional high ground of its category
worldwide,” and there is no question that we have achieved it.
Two of our marquee films were ranked in the top 50 most emotional ads of
the year (out of over 500 global award-winning / acclaimed ads), as tested
by BrainJuicer®
as a part of its FeelMore 50 platform.
Source: BrainJuicer® FeelMore 50
“First Days Out” was ranked as a Blockbuster 5-star ad, placing it in the top 4% of all advertising tested by
BrainJuicer, ranked it the #7 most emotional ad of the year. And “The Walk” was ranked as a Must-See 4
star ad, placing it in the top 9% of all ads tested by BrainJuicer®
, and in BrainJuicer’s #50 most emotional
ad of the year.

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Finally, global sales results are vivid proof that speaking straight to the
heart was the most rational business decision Pedigree could have made.
Across the markets where “Feed the good” has launched, we are
seeing a significant lift to the business, with an average of 10%
increase in sales three months post-launch.
This chart highlights results from some of the top markets where
we have launched the campaign. Of note, our largest market, the U.S.,
has seen double-digit growth in NSV.
10% Lift Across Markets
10.7%
PEDIGREE PRE- VS. POST- CAMPAIGN RESULTS
% CHANGE IN PEDIGREE SALES (NSV)
U.S. AUSTRALIA BRAZIL THAILAND
20.3%
1.6%
6.4%
Results were weighted based on market size to come up with the average lift across markets.

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THANK YOU