2019 Winners & Shortlists

Describe any restrictions or regulations regarding Healthcare communications in your country/region (imposed by healthcare regulatory bodies, government, TV stations, etc.)

It is not allowed to advertise medicine apart from OTC medicine. Doctors and health practitioners are also not allowed to advertise as well.

Describe the target audience

Dog lovers who believe that shelter dogs can't be disciplined and can't be taught anything new. For them shelter dogs are like a second-hand toy with no batteries. They usually go for pure-breed dogs from fancy pet shops where animals come with a tag and a how-to-use booklet.

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We open on a SNIFF “football coach” in a pre-match interview, giving a statement about the misconception that “old” dogs can’t learn new tricks. While the SNIFF coach is answering the “journalists” questions about the selection and training process of the dogs, we see snippets of dog players wearing their Classico jerseys and learning new tricks with professional dog trainers. The coach then finally introduces his “players” one by one. Each of them has been given a nickname inspired by an actual players’ name, Fifigo, Messy, Dogaldo, etc. In the introduction scenes we see the dogs demonstrating their newly learned skills while the coach’ voiceover highlights their strengths through inside jokes relevant to each player they’ve been nicknamed after. We then see the message: “Adopt a dog, and let it adopt what you love." The video ends with the reveal of the dog cast - SNIFF oldest shelter dogs.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

Animal activists in the UAE were dealing with an unprecedented dumping spree as a record number of pets have been left to fend for themselves (Gulf News). Every Dubai and Abu Dhabi animal shelter are picking 20 to 30 dogs from the street on a weekly basis (Khaleej Times). These animals are usually in bad shape and their future goes from gloomy to gloomier. Once “rescued”, shelters become their reality, and their chances of being adopted go from small to nearly impossible. Animal shelters in the UAE were overbooked which meant that animals who would not get adopted within 72 hours would be sent to the ‘death room’. Forcing UAE’s animal shelters to euthanize innocent homeless dogs. Sniff, a UAE non-profit animal rescue organization, was suffering the same fate. As a no kill animal rescue organization, Sniff desperately needed to find homes for its neglected dogs.