We simultaneously launched a billboard and website advertising a dog fight between two dogs. The billboard contained the url www.cajunrules.co.za referencing the rules of a fight to the death between two dogs. A call-to-action to book tickets to the fight via a telephone number or website appeared on the billboard. People could then leave a message on the booking line. When the public reaction peaked we revealed the message on the billboard and website: “Did this fake dog fight make you see red? Stand up against dog fighting!” This was supported with a sms donation drive. The campaign PR then kicked in with a spokesperson from the NSPCA going on multiple news media channels explaining how severe the crime of dog fighting is in South Africa. The free media airtime enabled the NSPCA to educate the public on what signs to look out for that could indicate dog fighting activities.

We simultaneously launched a billboard and website advertising a dog fight between two dogs. The billboard contained the url www.cajunrules.co.za referencing the rules of a fight to the death between two dogs. A call-to-action to book tickets to the fight via a telephone number or website appeared on the billboard. People could then leave a message on the booking line. When the public reaction peaked we revealed the message on the billboard and website: “Did this fake dog fight make you see red? Stand up against dog fighting!” This was supported with a sms donation drive. The campaign PR then kicked in with a spokesperson from the NSPCA going on multiple news media channels explaining how severe the crime of dog fighting is in South Africa. The free media airtime enabled the NSPCA to educate the public on what signs to look out for that could indicate dog fighting activities.

With zero media spend we managed to receive advertising value of $132 185. PR value totalled $396 556. We achieved over 29 million impressions across all media. The campaign website received 33 000 hits in 3 hours reaching 110 countries. The topic trended on Twitter. A campaign intended to run for 4 days reached its objectives within 4 hours of the billboard being launched. The most rewarding results came in the form of 45 dogs being rescued from dogfighting rings as well as 13 people being arrested in connection with dogfighting, all within the space of 2 months after our campaign had run. Before the campaign dog fighting was underreported with most people not realising it existed. Post campaign, public response was so successful that the NSPCA had to re-prioritise their staff to deal with the increased number of leads coming from concerned and newly enlightened members of the public.