• by Danielle Oster , April 11, 2025

Your dog wants you to stay home and get dinner delivered.

That’s the idea behind DoorDash’s campaign for National Pet Day (April 11), “Dog Friendly Since 2013” (the year DoorDash was founded).

For the most part, restaurants don’t let customers bring their canine besties inside, so going out to eat typically means leaving the dog at home. DoorDash reminds potential users that every in-restaurant minute is time they could be spending with their dogs instead.

DoorDash worked with creative agency Gut Miami, teaming up with real food and grocery establishments and mascots. The campaign hinges on heart-tugging scenes of dogs longingly looking into such establishments as they wait patiently outside, alongside an emotional appeal to stay in and order delivery on National Pet Day.

“Dog owners have to make the tough call of leaving their best friends behind outside a restaurant, so through these beautiful visuals, we came up with a clever way of showing DoorDash as the solution,” Gut Miami CCO Juan Javier Peña said in a statement.

The campaign is running across billboards in Miami, print in the Boston area, and a series of short videos on DoorDash’s social channels. One video on the brand’s Instagram channel, for example, was posted along with the message “According to law, dogs can’t dine-in. But with DoorDash, you and your best friend will never miss a moment together.”

"With Dog-Friendly, we’re building on our brand platform Your Door to More by showing how DoorDash can unlock everyday happiness for pet owners nationwide,” Rafael Segri, head of creative at DoorDash, said in a statement, referring to the brand platform DoorDash introduced in early 2024 and showcased during its Super Bowl ad that year.

This past February, the brand once again used its Super Bowl spot to highlight a new brand platform. DoorDash’s big game ad starred Nick Bargatze and introduced a new “Give Yourself a Pass” creative platform promoting the brand’s DashPass membership program.