Switch Your Teenager's Heart On When Their Brain Switches Off: Adopt a Dog

According to leading neuroscience, the rational part of a teenager’s brain switches off momentarily to allow the rest of the brain to develop. That’s why teenagers behave, well, like teenagers. 

“The frontal lobe is the seat of executive function, a term for the cognitive processes that allow us to plan, make decisions and judgments, formulate insight, and assess risk. The delayed maturation of connections contributes to teenagers’ risk-taking. Their frontal lobes are simply not yet fully online.” – Dr. Frances Jensen, Harvard Medical School. 

The new campaign from PEDIGREE® analyses the mystifying behaviours of a teenager before suggesting to parents that the “only option is adoption.” The brand aims to position a dog as the perfect antidote for a teenager, by going on to say that when a teenager’s brain ‘switches off’, parents can ‘turn their heart back on’ by adopting a dog. 

Joe Lanham, marketing manager at Mars: “Our PEDIGREE® brand purpose is to feed the good that dogs bring to the world, by helping every dog find a loving home. This campaign reminds us that dogs can bring out the best in anyone. Even irrational teenagers. Ultimately, we’re excited to encourage parents to adopt a dog, and help more dogs find a loving home to call their own.”

The campaign drives listeners to PedigreeTeenagers.com where families can find a local shelter dog that matches their teenager, powered by the smart MyHooman platform. 

Says Si Vicars, CCO at Colenso BBDO: “Dogs bring out the good in us. They support us, give us purpose, fix our bad days, and remind us we are loved. No one needs that more than teenagers.”

Three radio spots launch the campaign, brought to life by an eccentric German psychiatrist, with more to roll out in the new year.