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Background

Every year in Korea two million dogs are slaughtered and eaten illegally. Recently, the Korean Government proposed a bill which would legalise the dog meat trade. Dog Aid Australia – an Australian animal rights organisation – couldn’t stand by and allow the bill to pass, so they set up an online petition. Dog Aid intend eventually to send their petition to the Mayor of Seoul. And without considerable support from the Australian public, it’s likely that he’ll disregard their appeal. The agency needed to generate an impressive number of signatures, and increase awareness of the cause.

Idea

DL takeaway menus are often dropped in letterboxes to promote local cuisine. Clemenger Proximity took advantage of this convention and demonstrated a harsh Korean reality. Rather than listing ordinary dishes, they put dog on the menu. The piece (part of an integrated campaign that included letterbox drop, email and viral elements) was designed to stand out in the mail and written to engage the audience, right through to the call to action.

Results

In the first month signature accumulation increased by 150% – from 207 to 500 signatures per month. Website traffic increased too – up 450% from 200 hits to 900 hits per month.

Target audience

Prospects from affluent Australian suburbs. They were more likely to own dogs, more likely to empathise with the cause, and more likely to sign the petition.

Volume/size of campaign

5,000 items have been sent, but the campaign is ongoing.

Our Thoughts

I’ll be honest. I’m not sure this is the greatest bit of work I’ve ever seen and the menu idea is one that’s recycled fairly frequently but the copywriter here has really had a field day. It has been written with great panache and I’ll bet it made many people laugh out loud. I just wish I hadn’t taken a big mouthful of coffee as I was reading the bottom line, ‘Warning: May contain traces of frisbee’.