Just training dogs is a challenge, and in recent years there's come the added challenge of training them to relieve themselves in certain public areas.
So if you're a dog obedience school, and you teach that particular skill, how might one convey that in a clever way? It was just that question that arose at Dog Coach, an obedience school in Berlin, Germany.
They turned to their agency, .Start, based in Munich, and the agency minds came up with an idea.
"We were like, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if the dogs were able to piss their own names?’" says Marco Mehrwald, executive creative director at .Start. "I think that would show how teachable a dog is."
So the agency minds went to the city's largest park, Berliner Tiergarten, and wrote out in the snow, using yellow food coloring, common dog names like Spike, Rocco and Daisy. They then put up signs next to the names directing folks to the school’s web site.
Mehrwald says the team from .Start wrote out a lot of dog names that day, putting them in as many open places as they could find.
He says names were put in at least 10 locations around the 630-acre park.
As with so many alternative media campaigns, the aim was first to generate buzz, get people talking, and to amuse them. It was less about generating business for the school.
Says Mehrwald: "It was just for a day, but it got people's attention. People were laughing."
