SINGAPORE – ONE on ONE is an exclusive interview series by The One Club for Creativity and Adobo Magazine, spotlighting standout winners of ONE Asia Awards and The One Show, both part of the global nonprofit organization The One Club for Creativity.
More than a Q&A, it offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the creative spark, strategic thinking, and cultural insight that drive award-winning work across APAC. By featuring diverse creative teams from around the region, the series celebrates innovation, collaboration, and ideas that push boundaries.
In this edition, we speak to creatives behind Adoptable. By Pedigree—an inspiring blend of technology and purpose. From key insights and AI innovation to heartwarming adoption stories, the campaign shows how creativity can lead to meaningful real-world impact.
Colenso BBDO Auckland was a top winner at the 2024 ONE Asia Creative Awards, taking home Best of Show, three Best of Discipline honors, and four Golds.
Below are the answers from Duncan Bone, Group Creative Director at Colenso BBDO.
One Asia: What was the key insight that inspired the Adoptable campaign?
Duncan: The insight was simple but powerful: shelter dogs often have photos that don’t do them justice, which can lower their chances of being adopted. We thought, what if we could do a photoshoot for every shelter dog in the world? Or better yet, what if we used AI to create studio-quality portraits for them? This way, every ad could become an opportunity to showcase shelter dogs in their best light, making it easier for people to connect with and adopt their new companion.
One Asia: How did you develop the AI technology behind Adoptable?
Duncan: We partnered with Nexus Studios to develop a custom machine learning system specifically trained on thousands of shelter dog photos. By focusing entirely on one subject, we achieved better results than if we’d relied on an off-the-shelf solution. This allowed us to use simple mobile phone photos of each dog to create studio-lit photos of each dog.
Nexus also designed a 3D rigging system that allowed us to generate different poses that gave us the flexibility and control required to make sure that the same dog could appear across different ad formats.
One Asia: What challenges did you face integrating real shelter dogs into Pedigree’s ads, and how did you overcome them?
Duncan: We had to overcome two main challenges. The first was collecting enough data to train the AI effectively. Thankfully, Pedigree’s strong relationships with shelters worldwide provided us with access to a wealth of data. The second challenge was creating a system that could automate as much of the process as possible. This incredibly complex piece of work is still evolving, but we’re so excited to continue to refine and scale it.
One Asia: What is the one aspect of the campaign that you believe contributed most to its success?
Duncan: I think part of it is the emotional connection and showing that Pedigree is really committed to this very real cause of helping shelter dogs. Using AI for doing good in the real world wasn’t expected at a time when everyone was mostly fearing this new technology. We managed to create something that is of the time that wasn’t possible to make a year ago. This balance between innovation and heart is what possibly made it resonate with such a wide audience.
One Asia: How did geo-targeting and first-party data contribute to the campaign’s effectiveness?
Duncan: It was the cherry on top and a crucial part of creating something that truly worked on every level. Geo-targeting ensured people saw dogs available near them, which made the ads actionable. This data allowed us to fine-tune the experience, like showing specific breeds or sizes based on location. This helps to further ensure the dogs we’re homing are more likely to stay in these homes.
One Asia: Can you share one memorable story from shelters or adopters as a result of the campaign?
Duncan: Tiny, the Chihuahua, became the unexpected star of the campaign after we asked his foster owners to bring him to a location and let him pose next to the largest billboard featuring him—and the rest, as they say, is history. His newfound fame led to his adoption. Sadly, Tiny has since passed away, but we’re grateful he found a loving home and got to shine in the spotlight.
One Asia: What’s the one lesson from this campaign you will carry into future projects?
Duncan: The biggest lesson is the power of aligning purpose with innovation and using it wisely. This campaign showed that when you solve a real-world problem with creativity and technology, you can create something very special. It’s not about using innovation for its own sake but about applying it meaningfully to amplify the core purpose in a way we haven’t seen before.
One Asia: Based on your experience with Adoptable, how do you see AI shaping the future of advertising?
Duncan: This year is going to take us to some places we have never even dreamt of in terms of what AI and AGI will do on a day-to-day basis. As we’ve done with every new technology that has come our way, we just need to find the right way to harness it and make sure we work side by side instead of one replacing the other. This project is a perfect example of using AI to solve a real-world problem in a creative way and neither could have worked without the other. AI can handle the heavy lifting, but it’s still up to us to bring the humanity and storytelling that connects with people on an emotional level… for now.
One Asia: What one piece of advice would you give other agencies aiming to create purpose-driven campaigns like Adoptable?
Duncan: It’s an obvious start, but one that’s always worth reminding ourselves every time—is to have a clear purpose that feels really authentic to the brand. Then find the best way to deliver that message in a way that can’t be ignored. If the belief and goal are genuine, then people will believe in what you believe in yourself.
