Reimagining an iconic slogan
Dogs Trust is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK, caring for over 15,000 dogs every year. In 1978 they coined the now infamous slogan ‘A Dog is for life, not just for Christmas’. Sadly, 39 years later, the message is more relevant than ever. Dogs Trust continues to take in hundreds of dogs during the festive period, as people buy puppies as presents without considering the responsibilities of owning a dog. Ahead of the 40th Anniversary of ‘A Dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ campaign, Dogs Trust wanted us to rekindle the message to make it relevant for 2017.
Even the most iconic messages need to evolve to stay relevant. Dogs Trust’s famous slogan, “A Dog is for life, not just for Christmas,” was approaching its 40th anniversary — but the issue it addresses was as urgent as ever. The challenge was to reimagine it as an animal welfare campaign that could cut through modern audiences’ crowded social feeds.
With Why I Left You, we brought humour into animal charity marketing, proving that an unexpected tone can make a serious message land. Real stories of dog abandonment became break-up excuses — turning a tough subject into a shareable, thought-provoking film that reached a new generation.
Breakup stories
When dogs are brought into rehoming centres Dogs Trust is given a reason as to why they are handed over, and the reasons range from the understandable to the outrageous. We made a film that showed just how ridiculous some of these reasons are by framing them as reasons why someone might break up with their partner. Made for social media, we encouraged people to watch what they thought were real-life breakup stories before revealing that each character is actually talking to a dog they’ve abandoned. Using humour and a surprising twist, we made sure that the message that ‘A Dog is for life, not just for Christmas’, was as memorable as ever.
Why I Left You showed the power of humour in animal charity marketing campaigns to tackle difficult topics without alienating viewers - driving both awareness and engagement
Impact
The video had over 800,000 views across all social media platforms, with a reach of 2,148,800 people.
Why humour can be effective in charity films
The world is full of problems and hardships – everyone knows this. That’s why, when used carefully, humour can give audiences permission to engage with difficult subjects in safer ways.
In our film work with charities, finding a funny way into a topic helps to break through an audience’s instinctive defensiveness, increase shareability and make messages more accessible – particularly on social platforms.
The key to getting humour right in these instances? Intent. Humour only works when it serves the key insight of a campaign and respects the issue – not when it’s used as a thoughtless shortcut to grab attention.
