Be Aware of the Dogs: 20-Foot Anti-Fireworks Dog Hijacks Helsinki's New Year's Celebrations

Dec. 21, 2022

The new year is once again celebrated around the world, but in many homes New Year's Eve is the scariest day of the year. Many dog owners spend the evening hiding in the bathroom trying to comfort their panicking pets. The sounds of fireworks make the evening a nightmarish experience for most dogs.

The Nordic pet care specialist Musti Group wants to bring this problem out in the open by installing a 20-foot virtual dog, Musti, at the official New Year’s event of Helsinki city. Musti has been created and animated with 3D technology, and it hears and reacts to the sounds of fireworks like real dogs around the world. The Be aware of the dogs campaign is also visible in outdoor advertising around all the biggest cities of Finland. The advertisements ask people to shoot off their fireworks as far away from residential buildings as possible.

Eveliina Rantahalvari, the Marketing Manager of Musti Group said:

"There are hundreds of thousands of dogs in Finland alone, but people who don’t have any pets don’t see what animals go through during New Year’s Eve. Real pets go into hiding during the night, but with the virtual dog we can bring this important message out to the streets, where people are celebrating the new year with fireworks."

 

The official New Year’s party of Helsinki is the last place any animal would go, but that is exactly where the virtual dog Musti will be spending the evening. The giant screen Musti appears on is connected to a decibel meter, which acts as the ears of the dog. Musti will hear and react to the sounds of fireworks like any real pet would.

Rantahalvari continued:

"Panic attacks, tremors and hiding are some of the common reactions. The symptoms often get worse as the dog gets older, and past traumas can haunt the dog so that it gets startled by even the faintest sounds."

 

Musti Group hopes that pet owners would share their own experiences of the downsides of fireworks. People spending their evening with their pet can share their photos with the hashtag #beawareofthedogs.

Rantahalvari concluded:

"We don’t want to be judgemental or spoil anyone’s evening, but we hope that people would be aware of this issue when choosing the place where they shoot off their fireworks. The further away from residential buildings the better. This way New Year’s Eve could be a fun experience for pets as well."

 

The campaign was created by the creative agency Erma&Reinikainen, whose founders Aleksi Erma and Erno Reinikainen are behind some of the most notable campaigns that have come out of Finland. Their work includes Burger King’s Pride campaign Love Conquers All and Land of Free Press, a campaign targeted towards Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin by the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. The virtual dog was created by the Finnish production company Cocoa.