Placing our dispensers in parks and live music events put us in the midst of San Francisco’s pet owners.

The SPCA’s services include animal sterilization, so our never-before-seen “safe pet sex” premise was the perfect platform for their message. And while the notion of a condom for dogs and cats is outrageous, it’s just plausible enough that people stopped and asked themselves whether it was possible.

That moment, and people’s realization that they’d been fooled, gave this campaign its magic — a light-hearted, provocative approach, perfectly attuned to the subject matter, our audience, and the progressive values of the city itself.

Within 36 hours of deploying our dispensers, we had seen over 30,000 visits to our companion website and 2,500+ Facebook shares, and our viral tale had reached 166 countries. “Pet condoms” quickly became the #1 trending topic on Reddit.

With an investment of less than US$10,000, the work placed the San Francisco SPCA at the forefront of the animal sterilization effort. Most important, spay and neuter appointments at the SPCA have been booked solid ever since.