TBWA GGT Simons Palmer is bringing back the ’A dog is for life, not
just for Christmas’ slogan in a new campaign for the National Canine
Defence League.
The line, which was created by the NCDL in the late 70s, is part of a
new drive aiming to halt the number of dogs abandoned in the
post-Christmas period. The organisation also wants to reclaim the line
in the face of imitation from other advertisers.
Poster advertising breaks on 13 December and runs over Christmas. It
features a picture of a cute and ’real’ dog next to an image of an
equally adorable but toy dog.
The juxtaposition of the two aims to highlight the permanent and
demanding nature of a real dog and to reinforce the responsibility
involved in owning a pet. The NCDL claims that although puppies may seem
a good idea, at least at Christmas, they may live for 15 years or
more.
Siobhan Lavelle, communications director at NCDL commented: ’We’re very
excited by this ad. Our slogan is 21 years old this year and still as
relevant now as it ever was. This campaign should bring home the
importance of the message.’
The ad was written by Carol Haig and art directed by Phil Martin. Media
planning and buying are handled by Booth Lockett Makin.
’’A dog is for life’ is one of the most-borrowed advertising slogans of
recent times. We just wanted to remind everyone who owns it,’ Trevor
Beattie, creative director of TBWA, said.
The NCDL has been developing a number of campaigns over recent months to
raise awareness of the plight of unwanted dogs during the Christmas
period.
It is running a promotion with the Kimberly-Clark brand, Andrex, in
which consumers collect tokens towards a soft toy puppy.
The national campaign is Andrex’s most successful ever, with 650,000
applications recorded so far. For every application received, Andrex is
donating 10p to the NCDL.
The NCDL has also agreed a deal with Bank of Scotland and MasterCard to
provide an affinity credit card. It will use funds raised to help care
for more than 10,000 stray and abandoned dogs.
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