VML and NAWT Hijack the Biggest Social Craze of the Year to Deliver a Powerful Message about Dog Abandonment

The #WhatTheFluffChallenge is the latest viral video challenge to take the internet by storm.

In the challenge, dog owners around the world are posting videos of themselves disappearing behind a blanket, leaving their dogs to desperately search for them — only to return seconds later.

But what if they never returned? Unfortunately, this is the case for tens of thousands of dogs who have been heartlessly abandoned by their owners right here in the UK.

VML saw this as an opportunity to get the world talking about this harrowing yet almost unknown issue.

Working with the National Animal Welfare Trust – a UK charity – and Agile Films, VML London launched its own ‘What the Fluff Challenge’ with a small yet powerful twist. Instead of the dog owner returning, the helpless dog was left alone for good.

Clare Williams, CEO and spokesperson of NAWT said: “Whilst we appreciate there are many reasons that might lead to someone having to make the difficult decision to relinquish their beloved dog, we would implore those people to get in touch with their local rehoming centre for help.

“There is plenty of help available throughout the UK from organisations like ours, who are working towards a future where no dog is abandoned and left to fend for themselves.”

The video was shared on NAWT’s owned social channels and was also seeded out to the press that originally covered the challenge.

“In past weeks, it was difficult not to see #WhatTheFluff on our social feed”, said Harsh Kapadia, Executive Creative Director at VML. “With the sad statistic of so many dogs being abandoned by their owners every year, we were inspired to make a touching film based on the trend, sending a strong message and a plea to adopt abandoned dogs”.

Links

https://www.nawt.org.uk/

http://agilefilms.com/

https://www.vml.com/united-kingdom/

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