We’re told, correctly, that it’s always better to adopt a dog rather than buy one, but a new project from pet food brand Nature’s Variety is opting to show rather than tell. “Long Live Pets” is a socially crowdsourced film that will mix live footage with hundreds of photo submissions from adopted dog owners to tell the story of that first trip home from the shelter.
Created by agency StrawberryFrog and production company B-Reel, Long Live Pets will take user photos to complete the film, stitching them together with footage shot at the Best Friends Animal Society Center in Mission Hills, CA. From shots of your dog with his snout hanging out the window, to playing tug-of-war with his favorite chew toy, each will be used to finish the story that will eventually premiere online on April 17, and air on Nat Geo Wild.
B-Reel producer Emily Fife says the team has broken the film down into 10 different scenes. “We’ve written a loose narrative for the film and the site gives users three different examples of photos to submit for each scene,” says Fife. “This simple guidance helps to ensure we get submissions we can use and also gives the user a sense of ownership. Instead of blindly submitting photos they are helping to complete the film scene by scene.”
After the film is launched, the site will feature interactive deep dives into some of the submissions so viewers can learn more about the rescue dogs submitted to the campaign.
You know who likes taking Instagram shots of their dog? Everybody. This project cleverly taps into that instinct to create something that celebrates dog owners’ decision to adopt, while raising awareness about pet adoption and no-kill policies.