Campaign of the month: Battersea

Animal charity Battersea has launched a brand-new campaign, dubbed Rescue Is Our Favourite Breed, directed by two-time BAFTA and two-time Emmy award winner Mateo Willis of Frozen Planet fame.

Created by agency FCB Inferno, the campaign aims to transform the way society views rescues, to address the misconceptions, and shift perceptions to reframe the category and stem declining rehoming numbers. The goal of the TVC is also to encourage the public to think rescue first and breed second.

Key to the strategy was to make sure the animals in the film were not depicted as victims. Instead, the campaign showcases every animal’s personality, character and quirks.

Sharon Jiggins, EVP at FCB Inferno, said: “We want people to get behind the campaign message of Rescue Is Our Favourite Breed by celebrating and elevating rescue, while tackling misconceptions along the way. A driver for this will be the use of the hashtag #RescueIsMyFavouriteBreed across all campaign and social media, encouraging existing rescue owners to embrace and use it.”

Claire Horton, Battersea’s CEO, added: “With this campaign Battersea is setting out to increase the visibility of rescue animals, to show they’re more common than you think and are in homes across the nation. They’re the most rewarding, responsible choice for a pet, and we’re encouraging all generations of animal lovers to think rescue first.”

The main TVCs plus 10” contextual films were produced by Annex with post-production from Framestore.