Sugar Doggies: How Peru Turned Adult Dogs into the Sugar Daddies of Purpose-Driven Marketing

May. 09, 2025

In Lima a city where more than four million dogs live on the streets and shelters are overcrowded — one pattern keeps repeating: dogs over two years old are almost never adopted. Despite being healthy, trained, and in need of affection, adult dogs simply can't compete with the instant cuteness of puppies. This finding, as painful as it is clear, became the driving force behind one of the cleverest purpose-driven marketing campaigns in Latin America.

Sugar Doggies was born from the alliance between the rescue organization Voz Animal, the creative agency Potro Lima, and the production company Lungo Films, with a premise as unexpected as it was powerful: if adult dogs didn’t seem appealing enough to be adopted, why not turn them into furry “sugar daddies”?

Inspired by pop culture and smart humor, they created a visual universe in which each adult dog was presented as a true Sugar Doggie, ready to "spoil" their new owner with exclusive experiences — courtesy of 22 partner brands that donated prizes, trips, dinners, beauty treatments, shoes, hotel stays, and more. Just as these dogs were once rescued, through this campaign, they would now "rescue" their adopters from the stress of daily life with a lifestyle of "luxury."

Every element — from the main video to the adoption profiles, all wrapped in an elegant aesthetic with a kitsch touch — was produced with cinematic-level craft and precise storytelling. The campaign struck a balance between humor and emotion without falling into clichés or condescension. Every shot, every outfit, every location was carefully curated to elevate the cause to the level of a premium lifestyle campaign.

The results exceeded all expectations:

• +425% increase in adult dog adoption requests within the first few weeks
• $298,000 in earned media, with no paid advertising
  22 participating brands, including hotels, restaurants, and beauty, health, fashion, and wellness labels
• Immediate replication in Ecuador and Argentina, with an open-source kit for global adoption

Beyond its impact, the campaign achieved what’s often the hardest: it made people laugh, feel, and act using a pop, visually striking, and genuine language — leaving behind the traditional tear-jerking tone typical of these campaigns. Sugar Doggies not only made adult dogs the stars but also redefined how to approach social causes with strategy, craft, and emotional intelligence.