The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2025
Pedigree makes Brazil's 'Caramelo' mutt a genuine breed to lift adoptions
Pedigree gives Brazil's caramel street dog the purebred treatment — DNA study, Kennel Club, its own dog show — and mixed-breed adoptions jump 218%.
Pedigree (Mars Petcare)
What it had to solve
In Brazil, mixed-breed dogs are the majority of shelter pets yet are 90% less likely to be adopted, and some 30 million pets in the country are homeless. Pedigree wanted to turn the beloved vira-lata caramelo into a symbol people are proud to adopt, not another charity appeal.
How it works
In Brazil the caramel-colored street mutt known as the vira-lata caramelo is everywhere and nowhere: mixed-breed dogs make up the majority of shelter pets yet are 90% less likely to be adopted, and Mars Petcare's index puts some 30 million pets across the country without a home. Pedigree's March 2025 'Caramelo' campaign, created by AlmapBBDO, treated the problem not as the dogs but as the status they were denied — a breed.
The engine was actress and presenter Tatá Werneck, a known animal advocate who had publicly raged that her own adopted mutt Maminha could not be registered for dog shows because she had no breed. Pedigree answered by giving Caramelos the full purebred treatment: a genetic study of 350 Caramelos with DNA Pets to map their shared traits, a Caramelo Kennel Club for owners, the country's first Caramelo Dog Show with a large adoption fair in São Paulo, and Pedigree packs redesigned around a Caramelo portrait.
The reframe produced results an appeal for pity rarely gets: 237 million impressions, organic engagement up 400%, 99% positive reactions, and mixed-breed adoptions up 218% within the first month. Cannes Lions 2025 awarded the campaign its Titanium Lion, a Creative Strategy Gold, a Direct Silver and a Social & Creator Bronze, and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale — the world federation of kennel clubs — later agreed to admit mixed-breed dogs to its competitions.
Why it lands
- It replaced pity with pride: rather than asking Brazilians to rescue a generic mutt, it gave the Caramelo a name, a heritage and a show of its own to join.
- Real infrastructure made the idea durable: the genetic study, Kennel Club and live dog show were institutions rather than ad stunts, generating news and adoption moments long after the launch film.
- Tatá Werneck's story was the proof: a beloved public figure whose dog was genuinely barred from a show supplied an authentic injustice to fix, not a manufactured one.
- The idea looped back into the product: a Caramelo on every packet made each purchase a daily vote for the movement and turned the supermarket shelf into advocacy.
What it did
The campaign drew 237 million impressions, lifted organic engagement 400%, earned 99% positive reactions and drove a 218% jump in mixed-breed adoptions in the first month. Cannes Lions 2025 gave it a Titanium Lion plus Gold, Silver and Bronze, and the FCI later opened its competitions to mixed-breed dogs.
What you can take
Don't beg for the underdog; change what 'breed' means. Building real institutions around the mutt — a study, a club, a show — gave Brazilians a proud identity to join, not a cause to pity.
Since then
Cannes crowned a campaign that outgrew advertising: beyond the Titanium Lion, Pedigree Caramelo became the yardstick other 2025 purpose work was measured against, and the FCI's decision to admit mixed-breed dogs was a first for the world kennel-club federation. In Brazil the movement continued through adoption events under the same platform, and the first-month figure — a 218% rise in mixed-breed adoptions — gave the brand a measurable social effect.
Sources
- AlmapBBDO Recognises Caramelos and Mixed-Breed Dogs in PEDIGREE's Innovative Dog Show
- Caramelo Show: A heartwarming celebration of mixed breed dogs, supported by Pedigree and AlmapBBDO
- AlmapBBDO Wins First Titanium at Cannes Lions 2025
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