At dawn on Black Friday in New York City, Subaru dispatched a fleet of 30 custom Subarus to shuttle shelter dogs and city dogs to a 5,200-acre state park upstate. Throughout the event, hundreds of these dogs and their owners—many of whom had never left the city—were able to spend an amazing day in the great outdoors. On social media, dog owners around the world were also invited to take their dogs outdoors on Black Friday, and Subaru made a donation to animal shelters for every photo posted online.

Prior to the event, the activation was seeded on all REI and Subaru social channels with a series of charming videos and social posts featuring dogs finally getting to experience nature. An extensive news and PR effort then helped to spread the word further. NYC dog owners were invited to reserve their spot on the REI website, and dog lovers nationwide were invited to post an outdoor Black Friday photo. After the event, an emotional three-minute video of the remarkable day was viewed and shared millions of times online.

On Black Friday, hundreds of NYC shelter and city dogs were finally able to experience nature. Social content surrounding this event was viewed more than 5 million times. More than 40,000 dog owners participated nationwide, each inspiring a donation from Subaru to local animal shelters. REI #OptOutside experienced a 440% increase in engagement, including a significant spike when this campaign launched.