WORK
NEVER LEAVE HOME NAKED
APA ADOPTION CENTER
NAKED OPPORTUNISM:
CHANGING PET OWNER BEHAVIOR FOR THE APA
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
OUT OF HOME
DIGITAL
The APA of Missouri exists to find new homes for pets. But what happens when pets arriving at a shelter already have homes? That’s what we set out to reduce with our latest APA campaign.
In 2023, the APA reunited 1,384 lost pets with their families—about a third of their total annual intake. By preventing more pets from getting lost, the APA can focus more resources on finding new loving homes for stray and abandoned pets.
EXPOSING THE PROBLEM
To speed up the process of identifying lost pets and reuniting them with their owners—hopefully without those pets ever having to visit a shelter—the APA identified one simple behavior change: ensuring pets always wear collars with a tag whenever they go outside.
But how do you change something so small, so trivial, that people rarely think about it? And how do you encourage pet owners to do the right thing without shaming them?
THE NAKED TRUTH
A collar with a tag is the only piece of clothing most pets will regularly wear. Which means, without it, they’re… naked.
And public nudity is not socially acceptable. (But it is funny)
THE CAMPAIGN REVEALED
We imagined a world where animals are treated like people. And people should never leave home naked.
These tasteful, censorship blurs, custom built for each pet and covering the tag area, grabbed attention, with evocative headlines that spoke to the absurdity of leaving your pet uncollared, and the importance of protecting them from getting lost.
NUDE REACH
We’re excited to see this campaign turn heads, cause doubletakes and encourage pet owners across St. Louis to tag their pets so they never leave home naked.
Impressions in paid social alone (that’s not counting all the outdoor and print) hit 680,000 with visits to the landing page for Lost & Found up 113%. Hundreds of tags have been given out at events and at APA shelters.
RESULTS:
680,000
LANDING PAGE VISITS
200+
FREE PET TAGS GIVEN OUT
PUTTING IT ALL OUT THERE
Of course, you can only tag a pet you already have—so maybe this is a good time to check out our campaign for big dog adoption and get yourself some Big Dog Energy.