The Challenge
Pet nutrition brand IAMS was founded in 1946, and pioneered dog food designed for their specific health needs, at a time when most dogs were still being fed scraps. Ever since, they’ve maintained their focus on keeping pets healthy for life. Today in the US, 59% of dogs are overweight or obese and the problem has been picking up pace, with the number of pets diagnosed as overweight doubling between 2011 and 2020. Obesity in dogs brings serious risks: diabetes, heart disease, and shortened lifespan, to name a few. In fact, obesity is the biggest preventable health issue that dogs face. So, in the name of pet care, IAMS launched the Healthy Weight Hub, a free online resource designed to support owners with the tools and education they need to help their dog lose weight. It also acted as a gateway to IAMS' Healthy Weight nutrition product – a kibble specially formulated to help dogs get to a healthy weight. However, despite climbing rates of dog obesity in the US, site traffic to the Hub was slow – which was having a knock-on impact for the product. We needed to make people realise that the problem of dog obesity is far more widespread – and far more relevant – than they realise.
The Solution
59% of dogs in the US are overweight or obese, causing them health issues which hold them back in their day-to-day lives. To tackle the issue, IAMS put dog obesity in the spotlight. Targeting Thanksgiving – the moment when dogs and dog parents are most likely to overeat – we created a mammoth Thanksgiving dog parade balloon in the shape of an overweight dog. Our dog was so big that he got stuck between two buildings, right next to the parade route. It was eye-popping proof that weight can hold dogs back from the things they love doing. Passers-by could scan the QR code under the stuck dog to learn he was based on a real overweight dog called Waylon, who IAMS had recently helped to lose weight. They’d also discover the IAMS Healthy Weight Hub, an educational platform full of tools to help their own dogs lose weight.