Gold
Four Paws and Ogilvy Health
Pets of War
As the world struggled to process the vast human toll of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, heartbreaking images of millions fleeing their home left people feeling helpless. Adding to the sadness were images of pets these refugees were forced to leave behind fending for themselves amid the rubble of bombed cities.
This campaign countered that inertia with a powerful image of its own: an exaggerated and colorful arm attached to a helping hand, reaching into the desolate black-and-white photographs of shattered Ukrainian cities. It showed people that they could help these animals from anywhere in the world by donating to Four Paws.
Based on social listening and insight from focus groups with U.S. pet owners, combined with comprehensive reviews of Ukraine war news and reporting footage, this campaign highlighted the plight of these 1.2 million orphaned Ukrainian dogs.
With powerful print, digital and outdoor executions, it conveyed the urgent need for shelter, food and medical attention.
This intensely powerful core visual telegraphed the idea that anyone can help pets orphaned by war from anywhere in the world, with a “Your reach is bigger than you think” tagline. The goal was to turn empathy into action — to give people the means to support these left-behind animals. Within 24 hours, it created more than 2 million impressions, 10,000 engagements and a 2,000% increase in donations. Four Paws turned that money into 300 tons of pet food.
The effort helped more than 50,000 Ukrainian animals — with zero media spend.
Silver
New York Festivals Health and Ogilvy Health
New York Festivals Health Awards
While the New York Festivals Health Awards has been around since 1957, it needed to boost its profile. With a New-Yorker mindset, the photographs in We Were Into Health When New York Wasn’t hark back to the Big Apple’s bad old days, when smoking was rampant, only athletes “exercised” and a good life meant sitting in a La-Z Boy watching TV. Judges loved the campaign and its results: an increase of 3,810% in users and 91,000 sessions.
