Traditionally, branded entertainment in Australia is limited to small online experiences as it can be very expensive to create anything branded for television. Needless to say, when it comes to the not-for-profit or charities sector, especially within the dog homelessness category, there has been no online or television branded entertainment whatsoever. Which is why the Pedigree Adoption Drive saw this as an incredible opportunity to break into a new market as well as reach a much wider audience. It also reinforces the company’s commitment to doing everything it can to reduce the rate of dog homelessness in Australia.

In response to the ‘We’re For Underdogs’ theme for the 2011 Pedigree Adoption Drive, we identified the importance of showcasing the real life stories of shelter dogs to produce content that would have every dog lover in Australia talking about the dog homelessness issue.

Aptly called ‘Underdogs’, we created an 8-part documentary that followed the lives of 5 Underdogs - Gilbert, Tasha, Roy, Fez and Ernie - from homelessness to their forever loving homes. It was a chance to also showcase the love and support that these dogs receive from shelter workers and the foster carers who look after them as they search for the right family and home. Never before had this side of the dog homeless issue been told, taking the cause and the focus to a whole new level.

The 8-part documentary was seeded online via the Pedigree Adoption Drive YouTube Channel and Facebook page. Every week a new episode was released and people were encouraged to share the videos amongst the dog loving community and their wider network of friends. As an incentive, Pedigree agreed to donate 1 can of dog food to a shelter for every video shared. This resulted in 200,000 cans in just 10 weeks. Better still, due to popular demand; the online documentary has since aired on national television with a second series due in 2013.

The online documentary has been seen and shared by tens of thousands of people; resulting in the same number of dog food cans donated to shelters by Pedigree. Originally created for Pedigree Adoption Drive’s YouTube and Facebook channels, the subsequent success and demand for the documentary saw it launch on national television in early 2012 to an estimated audience of more than 300,000. So what started out as a small online project with a small online audience has since exceeded our expectations. More importantly, it has help to raise the profile of the Pedigree Adoption Drive and provide a greater number of dogs with their forever loving homes.