Melbourne commuters play catch with digital dog in outdoor campaign by GPY&R
Melbourne train travellers were given the chance to play fetch with a digital dog last week as part of a new out-of-home campaign for The Lost Dogs’ Home by GPY&R Melbourne.
JCDecaux and GPY&R Melbourne are adding a digital dog to Melbourne’s busiest train station
Created by GPY&R Melbourne, ‘Wait with a Mate’ uses a digital Citylight from JCDecaux, allowing commuters to play fetch a with virtual dog and receive a real ball with adoption information after playing the game.
Jake Barrow, creative director at GPY&R Melbourne said the campaign idea came from “RMIT graduates” last year who are no longer with the agency.
“They came up with the kernel of an idea, that we then worked with them and fleshed out, and it blew up to what it is today,” Barrow said.
“We reached out to JCDecaux and they loved it so we formed a bit of a partnership.”
Martha Coro, The Lost Dogs’ Home communications manager, said she wanted to promote the companionship and “unique bond” between a dog and its owner.
“We wanted to celebrate that by brightening up everyone’s daily commute with these loveable creatures.”
The agency currently works with The Lost Dogs’ Home on a mixture of pro bono and paid campaigns.
The campaign finished on December 18 in the “premiere spot” of Southern Cross station in Melbourne and is staffed by The Lost Dogs’ Home volunteers.
“We’ve also got adopted and adored ambassadors, which are dogs that have been placed in a loving home already and will come down for people to pat and play with,” Barrow added.
Barrow said the agency is also looking to feature the digital screen at other events.
“We are looking at some other events that might be appropriate. Nothing’s locked in yet but that’s the aim,” he said.
“It’s a bespoke build so when we need, we can move it.”
Alan Klein, JCDecaux’s head of creative solutions said he was excited to watch people interact with the “world-class technology.”
“This campaign shows what is possible when you bring together a group of dedicated individuals for a great cause.”
Barrow told Mumbrella the client partnership was one the agency is “really proud of.”
“We are all animal lovers here so it’s easy to get people excited to work on these kind of things.”
The agency confirmed the out-of-home initiative will be submitted for the Award awards (a non-profit organisation aimed to raise the standard of creativity in all areas.)
“As I understand, the Award awards run-by date is by January 31, 2017, so we will be submitting it for Award,” Barrow said.
Credits:
- Agency: GPY&R Melbourne
- Creative Director: Jake Barrow
- Copywriter: Michael Barticel
- Art Director: Joey Newton
- Creative: Janice Ko
- Creative: Carissa Finneren
- Designer: Caleb DeGabriel
- Designer: Simon Gray
- Production Manager: Gerry Matthee
- Executive Producer: Romanca Jasinski
- Junior Producer: Emma King
- Director: Hayden Gregory
- Senior Editor: Raphaela Lee
- Account Director: Cathryn Reed
- Account Manager: Daniel Liberale
Agency: JCDecaux
- Head of Creative Solutions: Alan Klein
- Innovate Project Executive: Ashley Taylor
- Agency Sales Executive: Amanda Wells
The Lost Dogs’ Home:
- Communications Manager: Martha Coro
- Communications Officer: Kim Huynh
