The Problem:
All animals should live a pain-free life, but some are more prone to suffering than others.
Fashionable brachycephalic dogs (flat-faced pugs, French and English, bulldogs) can be born into a short life of suffering and chronic pain due to extreme breeding. Yet it’s these extreme physical traits that make them desirable and popular on social media. RSPCA want to end extreme breeding through education and ask people to say “No” to extreme breeding.
The MindField Thinking:
RSPCA would have to overcome cognitive dissonance in presenting this message to the dog-loving public. We mustn’t alienate owners of brachycephalic breeds and turn them off the message. The focus was on reducing the demand by highlighting how animals pay the price whilst extreme breeders cash in. Our research team would test the creative with the target audience to ensure it was impactful but communicated the correct message, tone and emotion.
The Answer:
Our headline paired with the RSPCA pledge encouraged animal lovers to pledge to help end the suffering. We added human medical breathing apparatus to the dogs to amplify their health problems. The media strategy targeted social and digital display ads to coincide with Crufts 2024. ‘Dog’ search traffic would peak around Crufts and the issue would be in the news and TV talk shows for brachycephalic dogs winning awards at the show.
We delivered 12,489 signed pledges against RSPCA’s target of 10,000.
“We worked with MindField to raise awareness of the suffering of many flat-faced dogs and asked people to help us tackle extreme breeding. Thanks to their great creative and digital strategy, combined with the strength of our argument, we were able to top targets and reach new audiences with our case. We enjoyed working with MindField who are great at what they do and super agile and responsive. Thank you for helping us advocate for more animals.”
Kerry Postlewhite – Assistant Director Campaigns and Prevention
