A new experiential digital outdoor campaign will launch at Westfield London on Thursday 29th June to shine a light on London-based animal welfare charity Mayhew’s dogs and cats looking to find their second chance and ‘love for life’.
The Loved for Life campaign includes an opportunity for visitors to the west London retail and leisure destination to take an interactive quiz on Ocean Outdoor’s full-motion 220m² digital screen to see if they could potentially be the one for a Mayhew dog or cat that needs a forever home. The charity hopes the campaign will highlight not only the importance of adoption of rescue animals, but also the support it provides to pet owners.
Because of a combination of cost-of-living pressures on household finances and lifestyle changes in a post-pandemic world (such as people having to spend more time in the office), and the rise in puppies and kittens going to first-time pet owners during the pandemic, Mayhew has seen a surge in demand for its range of veterinary and animal welfare services.
Mayhew is reporting a notable increase in requests from pet owners to give up their animals. In the first 5 months of 2023 alone, the number of requests from pet owners to give up their dogs had increased by 54%, and the same figure for cats is 74% compared to the same period in 2022.
Sherine Wheeler, Mayhew’s Chief Executive, says, “There is a very worrying increase in people seeking our support to rehome their pet dogs and cats. At the same time as having to operate waiting lists to manage our capacity, we are having to work very hard to find new ways to reach prospective adopters and foster carers, as they too struggle to make ends meet.”
She adds, “All of us at Mayhew work tirelessly to make sure dogs and cats are healthy, and loved for life, by people and communities who care for them. We do this through a range of preventative services, including by offering veterinary treatments free at the point of need, support services to animals and to pet owners in the community and of course, we rescue and rehome dogs and cats who are looking for love for life. We hope this campaign will encourage the public to see how they can help dogs and cats at Mayhew, including by supporting us.”
Ocean Outdoor UK CEO Phil Hall said: “Every year Ocean seeks ideas that leverage the entertaining, immersive and technical opportunities of outdoor screens and spaces. Mayhew have done just that, putting creativity at the heart of this campaign. It is fun, highly shareable and addresses an important topic. Britain is known as a nation of animal lovers. Let’s hope these pets find the homes they deserve.”
The campaign was a winner in Ocean Outdoor’s 2022 digital creative competition which awards advertising space to the best ideas and causes. The experiential event held in Westfield Square is hosted and produced by Ocean Labs. The interactive billboard at Westfield London is supported by a further 11 full motion screens across West London highlighting Mayhew’s work.
