“Dog Days of Summer” was a single-medium print ad campaign benefiting Memphis Animal Services, the municipality-owned animal shelter in Memphis, Tennessee.
Overview
Memphis Animal Shelter (MAS) is the only open-intake animal shelter in Shelby County, Tennessee. They take in over 8,000 animals annually while also acting as a community resource hub that aims to keep animals with their families by providing resources to those who are struggling financially to care for their animals.
Our challenge was to create ad materials for a private fundraising event with a goal of $500 in donations.
The Strategy
Headlines for these posters were inspired by the National Audubon Society’s catalogue of bird species. This cheeky play on species variety borrowed the style Audubon is famous for and applied it to the animals most likely to be found in animals shelters.
Body copy worked to highlight the specific positive personality traits our audience could expect with shelter dogs and cats.
This was particularly important in the dog poster. My research indicated that upwards of 65% of dogs in public shelters were some form of pit bull-mix breed dog. However, these dogs are among the most commonly euthanized breeds. It was imperative to my copy strategy that I took care to represent these shelter dogs, who are so often mischaracterized as aggressive or dangerous, in a way that was representative of their family-friendly, good-hearted nature.
Results
Due to this campaign, we doubled our goal with over $1,000 in donations for MAS.
This campaign also won a Gold ADDY in the Ad Industry Self-Promotion category at the American Advertising Federation – Memphis awards in February 2025 and a Silver ADDY in the District 7 American Advertising Awards in April 2025.
Non-Sporting White-Breasted Wiggle Butt
One of the most popular species available for adoption, the Non-Sporting White-Breasted Wiggle Butt is most widely known for its people-pleasing personality and loving attitude towards their family. They come in a variety of colors and markings, and although their natural ears are floppy, some individuals may sport cropped ears—don’t worry, they’re still ready and able to listen to you talk all day! This species is abundant throughout animal rescues across North America.
Bonus: The creation of this campaign led me to adopt my own Non-Sporting White-Breasted Wiggle Butt from MAS!
Art Director: Deborah Elam
Creative Director: Amy Lind
Morgan McKinney 