The brand has partnered with The Petplan Charitable Trust (PCT) to tell the story of a stray dog that can be saved only through mass online participation. The campaign is based on the fact that one abandoned or stray dog is put down every hour in the UK.
To help improve dog welfare and align itself with a good cause, Pedigree has created a series of films for broadcast on YouTube. The videos tell the story of an abandoned dog in four stages.
When each has been viewed 25,000 times, the next chapter of the story will be released on the Google-owned video site. Only by achieving mass participation will the story end well for the dog.
Consumers will be encouraged to forward the film to friends through YouTube.
They will be able to donate via the site by clicking-through from the videos - a technology that Pedigree claims is being used for the first time on YouTube.
Every view will be monitored by YouTube, and Pedigree has pledged to donate £25,000 to the PCT for every 25,000 people who view the channel.
Facebook will also be central to the campaign. Pedigree's Facebook page enables consumers to click on the ‘Like' button, triggering a charity donation of 50p from Pedigree.
The site's users will be encouraged to publicise the campaign in their status updates, while Twitter users will be asked to add a specially designed picture to their profile.
The campaign marks a shift for Pedigree, which has previously used on-pack promotions to raise money for charitable causes. Digital agency Hyper created the campaign, which goes live today (Wednesday).
The initiative carries the strapline ‘Every dog matters', which is intended to fit with the brand's overarching ‘We're for dogs' positioning.
Pedigree is often associated with TV ads showing happy, healthy dogs, but the brand's creation of an evocative film is intended to ‘call on the nation to address the plight of these dogs'.
Carrie Osman, senior brand manager at Pedigree, said that the change of approach aimed to communicate the urgency of the issue, mobilise the public and ultimately improve dog welfare.
It follows research by charity Dogs Trust and GfK NOP that found an estimated 107,228 stray dogs were taken in by local authorities in 2009.
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