Throw anything into the distance – a stick, a ball, a toy – and a dog will bring it back. Joyfully.

AlmapBBDO’s creatives realised that this was a wonderful analogy for the joy that dogs can bring to people with depression. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s 2017 study, 5.8% of Brazilians suffer from depression.

It’s common for them to think that life has no meaning and that whatever they’ve lost will never come back. Many of those with depression are ready to give up on hope and throw away their will to go on but eventually find love and happiness brought back to them in a very simple way: the presence of a dog in their lives.

The agency has created both an animated short telling a beautiful, poetic story, and a line of fetch toys with the words, love, happiness, life, and hope written on them. These were sent out to influencers and people who had recently been through a difficult experience. Whenever one of them threw happiness away, for example, their dog would bring it back.

“Adopting an animal is an act of shared love,” stated Gabriela Faria, marketing director for Pedigree in Brazil. “The adopter also receives a number of benefits in exchange. Studies from the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition, for example, show that pets can benefit your health, reduce stress, improve senior citizens’ quality of life, and help children’s development.”

Credits

Agency: AlmapBBDO

Chief Creative Officer: Luiz Sanches

Executive Creative Directors: Andre Gola, Pernil , Bruno Prosperi, Keka Morelle & Marcelo Nogueira

Creatives: Pedro Corbett & Firulo

Producers: Vera Jacinto, Diego Villas Bôas, Aline Silva

Account Service: Camilla Massari, Flavia Fusco, Renata Zuccarelli & Rafaela Braga

Planning: Cintia Gonçalves, João Gabriel, David Gross, Julia Hodgkiss Prais & Leo Belquiman

Media: Daniel Ribeiro, Thabata Hidalgo & Marina Leitão

Production Company: LOBO/Vetor Zero

Executive Producers: Alberto Lopes & Sergio Salles

Directors: Gabriel & Alton

Animation Director: Fabiano Broki

Liaison: Thaís Lopes

Post-Production: Equipe LOBO/Vetor Zero

Producer: Vivi Torre

Management: Clara Morelli & Rosângela Gomes

Audio Production: Cabaret

Music Production: Cyro Neto & Guilherme Azem

Composer: Andre Henrique

Mixing & Post: Gab Scatolin

Liaisons: Ingrid Lopes & Flávia Caparelli

Management: Verusca Garcia & Junior Freitas

Client: Mars Pedigree

Client Management: David Griffin, Marina Sachs, Guillermo Hermosillo, Daniel Calderoni, Gabriela Faria & Marianna Oliveira