Huggies opened a Baby Academy for Pups to prepare dogs for the new baby

Introduce pups to all things baby — the sights, sounds and many new items that enter their world upon baby's arrival — while celebrating Huggies Special Delivery Diapers Featuring Disney's 101 Dalmatians and the 'furever friendship' between babies and their four-legged siblings.

A Baby Academy for Pups: a pop-up training centre designed for canine senses, so a dog's first encounter with baby things isn't the day the baby comes home.

Created with celebrity dog trainer Kaelin Munkelwitz of All Things Pups, the Flatiron Plaza pop-up walked pups through a sound garden of baby noises, meditation beds, screenings of baby footage colour-corrected for dog vision at eye level, and sniff stations with strollers, bottles and rattles; a 'Fur Baby, Meet Baby' kit and social series extended it.

A first-of-its-kind interactive pop-up for dogs that drew influencers and consumers including actress and twin-mom Jamie Chung, and gave new parents expert-backed support for the dog-meets-baby milestone.

In July 2022, Droga5 partnered with Kimberly-Clark's Huggies to launch its 101 Dalmatians partnership with the Baby Academy for Pups, a first-of-its-kind interactive pop-up experience for dogs on Flatiron Plaza in Madison Square Park.

The academy introduced pups to all things baby through interactive and sensory experiences designed with canine senses in mind. Dogs first faced a wide range of baby noises in a sound garden — most participants were happy to lay down on the meditation beds with the help of a few treats. Then came screenings of how babies behave, with footage especially coloured for dogs' unique eyesight and set at eye level so the pups could watch comfortably.

Finally, dogs sniffed out common baby items — a stroller, baby bottles, rattles — so their first time hearing, seeing and interacting with 'their' new baby wouldn't be when the baby comes home. Celebrity dog trainer and behaviourist Kaelin Munkelwitz, founder of All Things Pups with over a decade of experience, guided each pup and backed the science behind each experience.

Droga5 creative director Hope Nardini, herself a dog mom who introduced a 95-pound fur baby to her baby, said the transition can be nerve-wracking for new parents. The campaign also included a bespoke 'Fur Baby, Meet Baby' kit and a social series, celebrating Huggies Special Delivery Diapers Featuring Disney's 101 Dalmatians.

Dog-meets-baby is a real parenting milestone with no brand owner; Huggies claimed it at the exact moment its 101 Dalmatians diapers made the dog link literal.

Building each station around documented canine senses — hearing, dichromatic vision, smell — made the experience genuinely for the dogs, not just photos of dogs.

A celebrity trainer lent behavioural credibility that separated the pop-up from a stunt.

The kit and social series turned a one-site activation into tools parents could use at home.

Design the experience for your actual attendee — here, canine senses — and the human story writes itself; the product tie-in rides along.

The pop-up ran on Flatiron Plaza with influencers and consumers attending, including Jamie Chung, celebrating the friendship between babies and their four-legged siblings, while the Fur Baby, Meet Baby kit and social series carried the 101 Dalmatians partnership beyond the park.