TBWA

TBWA/Chiat/Day for Pedigree. Interestingly enough, TBWA also does advertising for Masterfoods, which is a division of MARS Incorporated (the owner of M&Ms). This is an unusual tactic: to advertise one brand by using another brand's icon. TBWA could not have picked a better mascot for the Pedigree Dogstore; the M&M characters are well-established, recognized, and adored by most people, regardless of age, race, or gender. Also, the M&M characters are seen as wholesome and family-oriented, which is a compliment to the loving, pet-enthusiasts Pedigree was targeting with their "Dogs Rule" campaign.

The campaign has been running since 2005 and has received numerous awards including Effie and Kelly awards. Since its launch, the "Dogs Rule" campaign has come to include print, outdoor, and TV ads, but also several non-traditional elements, like the Pedigree Adoption Drive, sponsorship of the Wesminister dog show, and of course the Pedigree Dogstore in Times Square. This is a great example of how ad agencies can play a crucial role in developing a creative, but holistic integrated marketing campaign. The Dogstore itself is a unique advertisement; it has over-sized dog beds for kids to jump on, all kinds of merchandise gear, and a dog park created to look like Central Park to play with potential adoptees!

An article in Adweek published back in 2008 chronicles the work done by TBWA for this campaign; the article mentions the key insight into the campaign (as told by Lee Clow) was that other dog food brands were focusing on the scientific benefit of the food and completely lacked an emotional connection between dogs and their owners. As Lee Clow said, "People who have dogs love their dogs, why wouldn't you be a brand that loves dogs and have it motivate everything you do?"