AUCKLAND, Today: PEDIGREE’s latest work, Good Dogs Have Bad Mouth, puts dog oral health front and centre with a campaign designed to make an often-missed issue impossible to ignore.
The idea is simple. Plenty of pet parents are doing all sorts for their dogs, but oral care can still end up in the “maybe later” pile. That matters because the warning signs are easy to miss, and 8 in 10 dogs go on to develop oral health issues.
The campaign leans into a clear message: prevention is still the best way to protect a dog’s mouth, and in turn, their overall health and wellbeing.
Meg Jones, Global Strategy Lead – Colenso BBDO says, “In many ways pet parents have never done more for their dogs – from dog day spas to treats.
“In response to this, there’s been a proliferation of health-centered treats in the category. Despite this, one of the most important issues – dogs oral care – may have faded into the background.
“Given the lengths pet parents go to for their dogs, if they really knew their good dog could have bad mouth, they would do something about it.”
Rather than leaning on heavy science or scare tactics, the campaign brings “Bad Mouth” to life in a strange, colourful felt world that makes the issue feel harder to ignore.
It is built around the thought that if pet parents really understood what was going on inside their dog’s mouth, they would be far more likely to act.
In AV, that idea plays out through two seemingly good dogs whose bad, bad mouths give them away.
“Pedigree’s unique role is to democratize good food that does good for our dogs.” – Mariana Coronel, European Director, PEDIGREE Brand
Kimberley Ragan, Group Creative Director – Colenso BBDO says, “Dental issues are often presented in a solely scientific way, which is why it doesn’t always resonate with pet parents.
“Turning the inside of a dog’s mouth into a fantastical world filled with fuzzy bacterial creatures is how we took this sterile topic to make it something that stops pet parents in their tracks.
In AV, we used the attention-grabbing language of ‘Bad Mouth’ to have fun with censorship… because who doesn’t love a good bleep-joke, right?”
The work keeps things playful, framing oral care less like a chore and more like an easy daily habit for pet parents to build into their dog’s routine.
Dentastix™ is positioned as a simple, everyday way to support better oral care for good dogs, without making the whole thing feel clinical or heavy-handed.
Mariana Coronel, European Director, PEDIGREE Brand says, “Pedigree’s unique role is to democratize good food that does good for our dogs. This is true of our Dentastix range too. It supports the prevention of oral health issues, as this has an impact on dog’s overall health and wellbeing.
Historically our communications have individually spoken to the functional or emotional benefits of Dentastix, but we’ve learnt that we need both to create a sustainable change in pet parent’s habits. Our new communication platform ‘Good Dogs have Bad Mouth’ does both by demystifying oral health issues and being hugely entertaining.”
Built as a scalable global platform, Good Dogs Have Bad Mouth is rolling out across OOH, social, digital and AV, with more still to come.
CREDITS
Brand: PEDIGREE®️, part of the Mars family of brands
Creative Agency: Colenso BBDO
Partner Agencies: Automated Creative, Hogarth, Mars United Commerce, Publicis, Omnicom / OMC
3D Animation: Scholar
Production Company: Hooves
Director: Peter Martin
Post-Production: Fathom VFX
Music: Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper
Sound: Franklin Rd Music & Sound
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