PawfectPets, via Yolk Singapore, reveals the true cost of buying puppies from pet shops
Integrated digital and social media agency, Yolk, a Grey Group company, working in partnership with local animal welfare groups has launched PawfectPets.sg, an interactive website that aims to create public awareness about puppy mill cruelty. The campaign seeks to change public mindsets from purchasing animals at pet stores to adopting them from animal shelters.
At the core of the campaign is an innovative website that takes on the appearance of an online pet store called PawfectPets. The recently launched campaign specifically targets people looking to buy a dog as a pet. Ads placed online and in local newspapers promoting ‘puppies for sale’ direct prospective dog owners to the website. Visitors to the online site are not only able to see the profiles of the puppies, but are also engaged to play with the puppies through an interactive video that turns into a series of pop-up windows that gives a peek into the puppy’s life journey from puppy mill to pet store front. The campaign strategy is to intercept the shoppers’ journey to make them pause for a moment to consider where these cute pet shop puppies are coming from. By getting their attention where it matters most, the campaign seeks to have potential dog owners leave with a message they will not forget and to help put an end to the cruelty and inhumane practices in puppy mills.
Puppy mills are large breeding facilities where dogs live in deplorable conditions, often without necessary food, water, or veterinary care and forced to reproduce over and over again. This campaign seeks to create awareness of such unethical practices to encourage people to pledge to adopt their next pet, and to spread the word by sharing their experience and views on social media.
Recounting his personal experience, Dr. Siew Tuck Wah, President of Save Our Street Dogs
said, “My first two dogs were unfortunately products of puppy mills. I was ignorant of the
unethical and cruel practices which go on behind each adorable puppy we see in a pet shop
display window in Singapore today. Hopefully, PawfectPets will generate increased awareness
and more Singaporeans will make the right choice to adopt rather than support an industry that exploits dogs.”
Lee Ken Ming from Lost Paws shared, “It’s important for the public to be aware that the cute
puppy at the pet shop could be from a puppy mill, and that they can change things by only
buying from ethical breeders or even better, adopting.”
“Dogs may not have a voice, but people do. Dog lovers are a powerful and tight-knit community, thus we want to harness the power of social media to allow them to share and in turn generate greater awareness and dissuade friends from buying a puppy to adopting one,” said Jun Jek Low, Creative Director, Yolk.
“The goal of the campaign is thus to educate the public that buying a puppy from the pet store is indirectly fuelling the growth of a cruel industry which allows for animal abuse, and that adopting a pet is the better alternative,” he added.