• by Larissa Faw , August 30, 2016

Rokkan and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are launching a new campaign designed to resonate with younger viewers to educate them about the puppy mill industry. Rokkan conceived and developed the creative behind "Don't Buy Into Puppy Mills," while its media team led buying and planning efforts for the campaign running through October.  

The concept contrasts optimistic images detailing children’s imaginative responses to the question “Where do puppies come from?” with darker animation to show how most puppies are sold online and in pet stores. 

"We need kids and adults alike to care about where puppies come from so we can end puppy mills long term," says John Noe, CEO and Lindsay Williams, SVP, media + analytics, Rokkan. "However, the campaign wasn't designed explicitly for children. We wanted to use a child¹s POV to generate more universal appeal across the board ­ to give puppies (and their mothers) a new voice." 

The campaign consists of three :30-second films and one long-form film. Rokkan, part of the Publicis Groupe, also redesigned a dedicated anti-puppy mills website to help raise awareness for this issue. 

The paid-media part of the campaign includes video distribution across social through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; animated display units to drive increased reach of campaign messaging; and a Google search to capture both pet enthusiasts plus users who are searching to buy a puppy/dog; and standard pre-roll across YouTube to dog owners and lovers. 

This paid media is designed to direct traffic to the "Take Action" page where visitors are invited to sign the Puppy Pledge, showing their dedication to helping stop puppy mills. 

The Puppy Pledge is also part of an interactive audience targeted pre-roll where visitors can click on the ad to learn more about this petition. "For this campaign we are using a branded slate -- this allows for campaign messaging to stay present throughout the entirety of the spot," says Lorraine Schwartz, senior media strategist, Rokkan. "It also provides a stronger [call-to-action] to help drive users towards our main [key performance indicator] for the campaign and puppy pledge signatures."

This campaign follows the ‘Same Day Pups’ campaign that Rokkan and The HSUS launched in 2015.