April Fools' Day is the perfect chance for brands to playfully convey their brand philosophy, leveraging the heightened public interest and the acceptance of even the wildest jokes. Hyundai Motor Company, recognizing the potential of April Fools' Day, aimed to win the hearts of dog lovers by fake-launching Dogbility, the world's first dog-tailored car.

[Why ‘DOG’bility?]

With 33% of the world's population owning dogs, and more than 80% of them driving with their furry companions, dogs have emerged as important 'petssengers'. Consequently, the pet-friendliness of vehicles has become a crucial consideration when purchasing a car.

Despite Hyundai’s decade-long efforts in pet-friendly campaigns, including offering vehicle options for dogs, pet ambulances, and providing transportation services for canine blood donations, its public recognition remains low. Hyundai sought to establish itself as the leading pet-friendly brand by unveiling cars exclusively designed for dogs, realizing the dream of dog owners.

To highlight Hyundai Motor Company's commitment to pet-centric vehicle technology, we did not choose to simply promote its pet-friendly businesses so far. Instead, we chose April Fools' Day, when public interest peaks and even the wildest ideas are welcomed, to fake-launch Dogbility: the groundbreaking self-driving vehicle designed exclusively for dogs.

[World’s First Dog-Centered Vehicle Created by AI]

The concept behind Dogbility’s creation revolves around the exclusive use of AI, from the vehicle’s design to its core technology. Why AI? Current pet-friendly technologies in cars, such as harnesses and cages, are all human-centric items designed by humans. To minimize interventions of human preconceptions, we relied solely on AI's creativity to design vehicles for dogs and tailored the core technology based on AI's analysis of 334 dog breeds. As a result, Dogbility was unveiled to the public with three different vehicle sizes and seven core technologies.

Based on insights that pet-friendly feature are a crucial consideration for pet owners when purchasing vehicles, Hyundai Motor Company aimed to establish itself as the leading pet-friendly car manufacturer while generating anticipation for innovative pet-friendly technologies to be implemented in future vehicles through its Dogbility campaign.

Although the Dogbility campaign was an April Fools' Day stunt, our key strategy focused on 'humor' and 'authenticity', designed to capture the hearts of dog lovers. Leveraging pet insights, known only to dog owners, the vehicle's design, size, and core technologies were unveiled, creating an explosive buzz among pet owners.

The choice of media channel also required strategy. Hyundai focused on Instagram, the social media platform that generates the most engagement among pet owners and dog lovers, and made a significant impact by unveiling Dogbility's key visuals and core features on Hyundai’s own Instagram account, without relying on mainstream media.

[How it works]

The primary concept driving the Dogbility campaign was to use AI from start to finish. With minimal human intervention, we aimed to develop a mobility solution exclusively for dogs. To achieve this, we first trained Chat GPT to learn the sizes and traits of 334 dog breeds according to FCI international standards. Based on Chat GPT's responses, we selected optimal vehicle designs and sizes for dogs. Additionally, we developed seven technologies inside the vehicle (1. Rubber ball horn 2. Nose print recognition for convenient ignition 3. Dog-compatible color alert HUD 4. Automatically-activated driver 5. Dog-tailored steering wheel 6. Dog-tailored aroma options 7. Downward-facing pedals) all based on AI's analysis.

The final vehicle designs and technology images were visualized using image-generative AI tools such as Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. By inputting responses from Chat GPT as prompts, we were able to visualize the vehicle design and technology to complete Dogbility.

[Execution]

The groundbreaking AI-made vehicle only for dogs, Dogbility, was unveiled on Hyundai Motor Company's Instagram account. With its launch, we developed and released an AR filter based on the dog-exclusive digital key concept, which garnered six times more usage compared to other brand filters.

Additionally, we produced Dogbility's posters and strategically placed them at eye-level for dogs, and executed OOH advertising, mirroring traditional car launch strategies.

[Timeline]

The primary advantage of generative AI is that it can create images with a short turnaround. By fully leveraging this AI tool, we prepared for the campaign a month before April Fools', with AI learning to generate Dogbility images in about three weeks.

- 2024 March: Dogbility development and image generation with Gen AI

- 2024 April 1st: Dogbility launch on Hyundai Motor Company’s Instagram account with distribution of dog-exclusive digital key filter

The Dogbility campaign's most significant achievement was the recognition of Hyundai Motor Company as a pet-friendly brand by pet owners. This recognition represents more than just a shift in brand awareness attributed to Dogbility alone. The campaign also brought attention to Hyundai's ongoing efforts in the pet-friendly solutions sector, including pet ambulance services, pet taxis, and pet-friendly vehicle options, which have been in place for the past decade. Furthermore, Hyundai's commitment to applying the technology showcased in Dogbility to actual vehicle research and development, despite the fake launch, allowed pet owners—emerging as core consumers in the future mobility market—to solidify Hyundai's position as the leading pet-friendly company.

1. +121M Reach

2. 881K Engagements

3. 94% Pawsitive sentiment in key markets

4. #1 in related searches among Automotive Industries (Hyundai : Canine)

5. +140% increase in purchase intent among dog owners