The Shelter Pet Project Teams Up With DDB New York to Launch One-Day "Adopt Your Doggie Double" Campaign with Yahoo!

NEW YORK, March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DDB New York is launching a one-day digital ad campaign to promote pet adoptions on behalf of The Shelter Pet Project, a joint venture between The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie's Fund and the Ad Council.  The "Adopt Your Doggie Double" campaign was the winner of the second annual Create for a Cause contest recognizing the best in digital advertising for public service campaigns.  Sponsored by the Ad Council and Yahoo!, the contest rewards the winning campaign with 24 hours of donated media space on the highly trafficked Yahoo! log-in page.  DDB's "Adopt Your Doggie Double" will be live at https://login.yahoo.com for 24 hours on Saturday, March 26, starting at 12 AM EDT.

The "Adopt Your Doggie Double" campaign ignites user interest in adopting a dog at a local shelter by pairing the user with a pet that closely resembles him.  Using facial recognition technology to analyze a user's webcam photo and compare his features to those of various breeds, the engaging online campaign matches the user with his "doggie double," and then routes him to a PetFinder.com-powered engine to locate similar dogs available for adoption in the area.

"As a dog owner, it breaks my heart to know how many great pets available for adoption never find a loving home," said Matt Eastwood, Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York. "This is a correctable crisis, and we wanted to help The Shelter Pet Project initiate the adoption process in a fun, engaging way. People always say that dogs look like their owners, so we thought we'd use that idea to find people their perfect pet. Ultimately, who doesn't want to see the kind of dog they'd be matched with?"

"The 'Adopt Your Doggie Double' campaign exemplifies the excellence in digital advertising on behalf of nonprofit organizations and causes today," said Mollie Spilman, SVP, Global B2B Marketing at Yahoo! "We are proud to be championing this innovative campaign on our log-in page."

In addition to being showcased on the Yahoo! log-in page on March 26, the creative for the campaign will be viewable at www.showcasedwork.com/doggiedouble/. More information about The Shelter Pet Project can be found at the Shelter Pet Project website, www.theshelterpetproject.org.

The Yahoo! log-in page ad unit, which first launched in June 2010, provides advertisers with an entire online page for highly creative campaigns that engage audiences on an emotional level. It is the entry to many of Yahoo!'s most popular services and one of the most highly trafficked advertising properties on the Web, visited by nearly one in ten Americans every day and one in three Americans every month.  Among the advertisers that have used the Yahoo! log-in page for campaigns are leading brands such as Chevrolet, CBS and Macy's.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) is the premier digital media company, creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. And Yahoo!'s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com) or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

Yahoo! is the trademark and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.

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The Advertising Council

The Ad Council (www.adcouncil.org) is a private, nonprofit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media and the resources of the business and nonprofit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of nonprofit organizations and government agencies. The Ad Council addresses issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

About DDB

DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) ranks among the top five consolidated advertising and marketing services global networks, according to Advertising Age. Consistently one of the most awarded networks globally for creative excellence, DDB was Campaign's 2009 Global Network of the Year, the 2010 Spikes Asia Network of the Year, 2010 Eurobest Network of the Year, 2010 Campaign Asia Pacific Creative Network of the Year and captured both the Cyber Grand Prix and Film Craft Grand Prix at the 2010 International Advertising Festival in Cannes. With more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, the DDB Group helps grow the value and influence of leading brands around the world. DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC).

SOURCE DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc