AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND — The fear of reading aloud and failing is proven to inhibit literacy amongst children. Over the last 2 years, child literacy rates have declined [1] with home learning resulting in a decrease in practice reading aloud and confidence. With the belief that dogs bring out the best in humans, PEDIGREE® has launched a reading programme that consists of five books, specifically designed to be read to a good listener, someone who’s extremely patient, full of love and never judgemental. A dog.
A study co-created by PEDIGREE® and The Waltham Petcare Science Institute found that having a dog as a listener can improve a child’s sense of confidence, moderate feelings of anxiety, and provide support [2].
Says Dr. Emma Woodward, Child and Educational Psychologist; “All kids need to learn to read, but for some this experience can become fraught with a sense of ‘not being a good reader’ so they lose confidence and motivation and then with it, the sense of joy that reading stories can bring. The PEDIGREE® DOGPHONIC TM books provide an opportunity for kids to fall in love with reading without the pressure of feeling they need to achieve.”
Says Fabio Alings, PEDIGREE® Global Brand Director at Mars: “Our purpose at PEDIGREE® is to ‘feed the good’ dogs bring to the world. Hence, we have a long history of creatively celebrating not only how we as humans literally ‘feed the good’ in dogs, but how dogs also ‘feed the good’ in humans, as their lovable innocence brings out the best in us. The PEDIGREE® DOGPHONICS TM book set perfectly captures the essence of that purpose: Dogs boosting the confidence of children who are learning to read, and young readers returning that favor by helping shelter dogs find a loving home to call their own.”
Says Maria Devereux, CIO at Colenso: “Reading anxiety is common, especially at an age where children are going through behavioral changes and developing their own emotional processes. The Waltham Institute has given PEDIGREE® DOGPHONICS TM books the science to succeed and the commitment to design craft and storytelling from the Colenso team, past and present – Levi, Dave, Rob and Charlie has taken that educational science to another level”
The PEDIGREE® DOGPHONICS TM programme is launching in New Zealand, with titles such as ‘It Was Not Me, I Did Not Eat The Alphabet’ and ‘Where Are My Pants?’. The book set will be made available at select bookstores, with digital versions available from Amazon.com. All proceeds from book sales go towards rehoming shelter dogs.
[1]Unicef Office of Research – Innocenti (2020) COVID-19: Effects of school closures on foundational skills and promising practices for monitoring and mitigating learning loss. https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/papers/10.18356/25206796-2020-13/read
[2] Nancy R. Gee (2020) The child-animal bond. https://vetfocus.royalcanin.com/en/scientific/the-child-animal-bond
LINK TO THE WORK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W8NWM4S
CREDITS
Client: Mars
Client: Global Brand Director, Fabio Alings
Client: Marketing Manager – Pet, Cormac Van Den Hoofdakker
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Production Company: Production Partners
Media Agency: WAVEMAKER
Any other partners: Child, Educational & Community Psychologist, Dr. Emma Woodward
