2025 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Despite being regarded as a socially progressive country, Canada’s animal welfare laws remain among the weakest in the developed world, earning a failing grade from the World Animal Protection Index. In fact, some laws governing animal protection have not been updated since they were first implemented in 1892.

As a result, animals are still classified as property rather than sentient, living beings, a legal oversight that leaves them with little to no protection in cases of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.

Even though 92% of Canadians believe in stronger animal protection laws, this issue has long suffered from cause fatigue, with Canadians overwhelmed by competing social concerns and desensitized to traditional advocacy efforts. To cut through the noise, Pet-ition needed to be more than just another petition. It had to be an intervention that reframed the issue, making it personal, urgent, and impossible to ignore.

Mattie’s Place, a Toronto-based pet rescue, saw the consequences of these outdated laws firsthand. Every day, they took in injured, abandoned, and mistreated animals, facing a system where legal protections were almost nonexistent. Determined to force action, they sought an approach that would bypass public apathy and inject urgency into the conversation.

“Pet-ition” law is incredibly specific, but nowhere does it state that you must be human to sign a petition, only requiring a name, address, and unique signature — which pets all possess thanks to their unique and finger-print-like paw prints.

Using this legal loophole, pet rescue Mattie’s Place created the Pet-ition: the first petition signed by pets to improve animal welfare laws in Canada.

The campaign launched in high-traffic pet spaces, including dog parks, grooming salons, and North America’s largest dog festival. Volunteers engaged with pet owners directly, collecting thousands of signatures in person while also driving digital participation via social media.

Pet influencers, a growing force in social media culture, played a critical role in spreading awareness. Accounts ranging from micro-creators to Instagram-famous influencers shared their pet’s “signature,” transforming the campaign into a social movement.

Momentum built rapidly. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, longtime animal welfare advocates, joined the cause, promoting Pet-ition during a concert in Toronto. As media coverage grew, the campaign reached political leaders, eventually making its way to Canada’s Parliament. By the end of World Animal Month, the “Pet-ition” was officially presented in the House of Commons, marking a significant step toward federal animal
welfare reform.

“Pet-ition” was more than a stunt or social activation; it was a legal statement wrapped in an emotional appeal. It subverted expectations, using Canada’s own laws to highlight their shortcomings, and in doing so, it turned pet owners into activists, influencers into lobbyists, and paw prints into policy.

“Pet-ition” did more than raise awareness; it forced action. The campaign amassed over 83 million impressions, creating national conversations about Canada’s failing animal welfare policies. More than 2,100 pet signatures were collected, sparking an additional online petition that gathered over 10,000
human signatures.

Public pressure was undeniable. Politicians across three of Canada’s major parties backed the initiative, bringing animal sentience laws into mainstream legislative discussions for the first time at the Federal level. The Minister of Justice publicly acknowledged the need for reform, stating, “Animal sentience is a matter of fact and science” that must be addressed in law.

Beyond politics, “Pet-ition” created a measurable impact for Mattie’s Place, with a 300% increase in engagement, $125,000 in donations (an all-time high), and a record-setting 1,012 adoption enquiries. The campaign culminated in a $13 million government investment in animal welfare at the end of the year, a direct result of the renewed focus on legal reform.

“Pet-ition” proved that creativity could be a catalyst for policy change. It transformed a bureaucratic process into a movement, turning an overlooked issue into a national priority. By using pets as the face of their own fight for rights, the campaign ensured that their voices, through their paw prints, were finally heard.

Credits

Publicis Toronto
Vinicius Dalvi - Chief Creative Officer:
Victor Yves - Head of Art
Sandra Baumander - Creative Director
Andre Bittar - Creative Director
Peter Sreckovic - Associate Creative Director
Devon Clarke - Associate Creative Director
Serene Gaspar - EVP, Managing Director
Rachel Dickey - Account Supervisor
VP Broadcast Production: Pam Portsmouth
Producer - Haley Piett
Print Producer - Lisa Reid
Content Creator - Gabriel Bortolotto
Chief Strategic Officer - Mary Chambers
Group Strategy Director - Michael Ash
Sophie Prefol - PR Lead
Matt Johnston, Associate Director, Analytics & Research
Anila John, Manager, Insights & SEO

ThePub Production
Reid Marshall - Director
Cameron Marshall - Director of Photography
Alex Chan - Photographer
Terry Theofilactidis - Executive Producer:
Rebecca Burtnik - Post-Production Manager
Madelyn Jones - Post-Production Manager
Emily Skeffington - Post-Production Manager:
Ingrid Theiner - Editor
Jordyn Stern - Editor
Issac Winter - Editor
Scott Edwards - Editor
Livia Apra - Motion Graphics
Naghmeh Jafari Firouzabadi - Motion Graphics

Nurun
Pamela Albino - Director of Growth Operations
David Han - Director of Experience Design
Quang Lai - Associate Technology Director
William Truong - Frontend Developer
Vincent Lee - Full Stack Developer
Maxime Masson - Spécialiste infrastructure & Cloud solution

MSL
Nadia Beale - President Account Services
Madeline Pelly - Account Associate

North Strategic
Alexis Scott - Account Director
Shraddha Jaiswal - Account Executive

Client
Denise Angus - Founder / Executive Director