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We all love puppies. Anyone’s initial reaction to a service that makes getting a new cuddly buddy easier is going to be a good one, but it’s that desire for cuteness that the Toronto Humane Society is trying to fight against. By promoting a fake service called Puppyswap – which allows users to pick a puppy based on adorableness and how much attention it will get on social media, but then trade it in once it gets older and requires annoying things like responsibility – the Humane Society and agency partner Grip hope to show people that would consider signing up for such a service how abandoning pets once reality kicks in isn’t such a great idea after all. The campaign, which launched last week, now also features print ads for the faux-startup that show how a revolving doggy door doesn’t create the kind of loving home someone actually wants for a pet.

Credits:

Brand: Toronto Humane Society
Advertising Agency: Grip
Creative Directors: Randy Stein, Scott Dube
Copywriter: Dane Boaz
Art Director: Juan Torres
Agency Producer: Liz Crofton
Account Manager: Justine Leetham
Interactive Producer: Lucy Foster-Friessen
Director, Connections Strategy: Owen Garsacadden
Associate Director, Creative Content: Patrick Tomasso
Social Content Strategist: Chelsea Thompson-O’Brien
Developer: Zack Nitsch
Production Company: Holiday Films
Animal trainer: Vi Hessing
Editor: Melanie Hider
Post Production: Alter Ego
Audio Production: Imprint Music