Posted by Instead of going out to eat, your dog wants you to stay in and order home delivery service. That’s the message DoorDash’s “Dog Friendly” campaign wants to convey in honor of this year’s National Pet Day.
In order to fetch more delivery orders, the brand capitalized on the universal appeal of man’s best friend. Since most public food venues aren’t Fido friendly, the ad campaign tugs at the heart strings with emotional images of dogs waiting forlornly outside a restaurant for their person to return. Or being left alone at home while their people go out. Which can all be avoided by ordering delivery.
DoorDash’s campaign motto, “Dog Friendly Since 2013,” refers to the year the company was founded by Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang, who were all students at Stanford University.
With a market share of 67% in the US online food delivery market, DoorDash surpasses both Uber Eats and Grubhub. The company operates in more than 30 countries, employs over 23,000 people, and boasts some 37 million active monthly users.
On this year’s National Pet Day, DoorDash’s “Dog Friendly” campaign aims to remind people that every minute spent at a restaurant is time they could be spending with their faithful canine companion. Enter DoorDash to save the day.
The delivery service company worked with creative agency Gut Miami and partnered with real food and grocery businesses on the campaign, which is running across billboards in Miami, in print in the Boston area, and through a series of short videos on DoorDash social media channels.
Gut Miami CCO Juan Javier Peña said in a statement, “Dog owners have to make the tough call of leaving their best friends behind outside a restaurant. So through these beautiful visuals, we came up with a clever way of showing DoorDash as the solution.”
The release of “Dog-Friendly” runs as a complement to one of the company’s existing ad campaigns. “We’re building on our brand platform, ‘Your Door to More,’ by showing how DoorDash can unlock every day happiness for pet owners nationwide,” said Rafael Segri, who is the head of creative for the company. “Your Door to More” refers to a campaign motto DoorDash released in a 2024 Superbowl ad.
Will the campaign serve to bolster DoorDash deliveries? The numbers aren’t in yet. But if man’s best friend can’t convince a consumer to stay home for dinner, who can?