Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust is the largest animal welfare charity in the United Kingdom, which specialises in the well-being of dogs and care for over 15,000 each year. Since lockdown, this number has almost tripled after many people bought puppies during the Coronavirus pandemic for comfort and company, and now realise that they no longer need or want them; but instead of bringing those dogs to the nearest rescue shelter, which would care for them until the dogs were rehomed with new owners, they instead dump them out on the streets.
The client’s request was to create a micro campaign that raises awareness on how the inhumane action of dog abandonment has massively increased since lockdown officially ended, urging audiences to realise that a dog is for life, not just for a pandemic!
I knew that Dogs Trust’s current tagline “A Dogs is for Life, not just for Christmas” was not fitting for what my campaign stands for, so I thought up of the tagline “Don’t Dump the Dog”. To make my tagline memorable to audiences, I chose to use alliteration of the letter ‘D’, adding rhyme and emphasis, and also made it as fewer words as possible so it could be formed into a hashtag to trend online. I chose a rough-textured font for this micro campaign to reflect the rough living conditions these dogs endure out on the streets.
The idea behind creating the micro campaign from the dogs’ perspectives, rather than the owners’, encourages the audience to sympathise with the victims. ‘What did I do wrong?’ suggests just how loyal dogs are to us, as they would blame themselves for being dumped rather than see us as anything but their best friend. Just some of the reasons Dogs Trust have heard as to why people have dumped their dogs are: they chewed too much furniture, they barked too loudly and too often, they shed too much fur, etc. People use these reasons to justify dumping their dogs out on the streets, when really there is no excuse at all, and it is that frustration in which I wanted to convey through this micro campaign.
Make a donation.
Although designers like myself are aiming to raise awareness through projects such as this, there is only so much we can do, but you too can make a difference. Donate an amount of your choice to Dogs Trust today to bring much-needed happiness to these dogs’ lives.