PPK Turns Shopping Into Sanctuary Support

PPK‘s campaign roared to success, blending the wild allure of Big Cat Rescue’s mission with philanthropic shopping through Amazon Smile. A striking ad, “New Shoes for Dinner” showcased a zebra-patterned tennis shoe that turned everyday buys into a feast for the sanctuary’s majestic felines. Under the banner “Your New Shoes Could Feed Our Big Cats,” this creative leap significantly bolstered the sanctuary’s funds and snagged a Graphis Advertising 2024 Gold Award, proving once again that innovative advertising can be a powerful force for animal conservation and philanthropy.

By: Michael Schillig, Creative Director/Copywriter, PPK

For more than three decades, Big Cat Rescue has been one of the world’s largest accredited sanctuaries for exotic cats and has provided homes for over 100 abandoned, abused, and orphaned big cats. Therefore, any type of donation, no matter how big or small, was essential to Big Cat Rescue, especially for their ongoing care and feeding of these cats with rather large appetites. 

Additionally, for many years, Amazon Smile had a long-running program in which anyone who purchased something through them could donate .5% of their purchases to the charity of their choice. And while that may not seem like a lot, it could really make a huge difference to some nonprofits like Big Cat Rescue. 

Anyway, our assignment was to create ads for the Big Cat Times Magazine, a publication that was mailed to over 80,000 Big Cat Rescue supporters, as well as produce on-site posters for the Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary with the objective being to make people aware of this unique charity program through Amazon Smile and the powerful impact it could have by helping to pay for substantial quantities of food for the cats. 

So, with this in mind, we designed this eye-catching ad/poster specifically to get the attention of individuals who purchased any type of merchandise on Amazon Smile. Senior art director Pat Floyd found an image of several lions feeding on some prey and then photoshopped a giant tennis shoe in place of the dead animal in order to represent a common purchase on Amazon Smile. But his creative inspiration didn’t stop there. 

He made sure that the shoe had an animal pattern that made it look like prey. He chose a zebra pattern since it is very recognizable to most people and because zebra is a popular food source for lions. Then he even added another dramatic touch to the shoe—blood stains. And I paid it all off with a simple but fitting headline… “Your New Shoes Could Feed Our Big Cats.” My copy encouraged people to pick Big Cat Rescue as their charity of choice since .5% would go directly to feeding their hungry cats—all at no cost to the customer. Our nonprofit client, Big Cat Rescue, loved this hard-hitting image and memorable concept. In the end, our target audience couldn’t help but notice it too and the strong results spoke for themselves. Because it ultimately helped to raise over $75,000 for the big cats in one year alone. The total earned through this Amazon Smile program over eight years was $499,000. Which made this a very successful promotion indeed. What’s more, I’m happy to report that the poster also caught the eye of the Graphis judges since PPK won a coveted Graphis Advertising 2024 Gold Award for it.

CREDITS 

Agency Owner/CEO: Tom Kenney 

President: Garrett Garcia 

Executive Creative Director: Paul Prato 

Creative Director/Copywriter: Michael Schillig 

Senior Art Director: Pat Floyd

ABOUT PPK 

Established in 2004 in Tampa, Florida, PPK is one of the Southeast’s most decorated independent advertising agencies. Founded on the belief that sound, strategic creative strategy and communications plans coupled with true partnership and client collaboration will always deliver results. It’s not about egos. It’s about rolling up our collective sleeves and putting in the time, energy, and effort to drive the bottom line, regardless of the business challenge we face. Because at the end of the day, regardless of what category you’re in or what brand you represent, there are a series of business challenges that stare you down every single day. PPK is here to help you overcome those obstacles and take your brand to the next level.

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To see more Advertising 2024 competition winners, click here.