Crafting a “Ballet of Bad Behaviour” for Pup-Peroni

How do you prove that a dog treat is truly worthy of being crowned ‘the best’? It’s not like a dog can tell you that in their own words… or can they?

Introducing ‘Treat the Best to the Best’: Pup-Peroni’s new creative platform that puts dogs front and centre, starring as foodie influencers in their own right. Created by BBH USA, with direction through hungryman’s LJ Johnson, the social-first campaign sees four canines parody some of the most ridiculous but unmistakable aspects of influencer behaviour – yes we’re talking table-top live streams, pouting selfies and the phrase “It’s giving…”

The brief for the campaign centred around the premium quality of Pup-Peroni’s dog treats, highlighting key product differentiators and the brand’s commitment to using real, slow-cooked beef – keeping dogs and their owners happy since 1984. “Our job was to bring those quality claims to life in a fun, interesting way,” says Yohan Daver, group creative director at BBH USA.

“We were looking for a way to talk about quality, but in a way that felt true to how people really feel about their dogs,” he adds. “And the simple truth is: dogs are the best. So of course, they deserve the best. That became the heart of the idea.”

In reality, the only way owners gauge if their pet likes a treat or not is if they eat it, and, on top of that, how quickly they eat it. So, by breaking down the thought process of each dog and giving them their own online personalities, it added a level of depth and insight not normally seen in the category.

“When we talked about how the treats are made – ‘real beef, slow-cooked, smoky flavour, tender texture…’ – it started to sound like we were describing gourmet food,” adds Yohan. “That made us laugh. We thought: ‘What if dogs acted like pretentious humans who actually cared about that stuff?’ But thankfully, dogs are dogs.

“We leaned into what makes Pup-Peroni different from other brands: how it’s made. But delivered it in a way that parodies our own foodie culture. Humans are kinda silly.”

LJ says when the board came across her desk, the dogs acting like foodie influencers just worked. “I can get behind this,” she recalls thinking. “But I wanted to treat it seriously… It’s a silly concept, but I responded to the idea of making it feel not silly."

The idea of doggy influencers evolved from parodying numerous different ‘types’ of foodies, to focusing on the social media-savvy archetype that pops up on feeds around the world. “From highbrow Europeans to award-winning chefs,” says Yohan.“ But we quickly realised that the most recognisable (and most common) are the clout-chasing foodie influencers we all see in our feeds.

And it just felt silly to see dogs behaving like that. Honestly, we didn’t have to do much research, they were already everywhere. We knew exactly who we were imagining.”

Director LJ fully embraced the brief, “I immediately started thinking of the dogs as influencer archetypes. One was a Daniel Levy type. Another was very Paris Hilton. I wanted to match each dog to a specific personality and when I spoke to the creative team at BBH, they instantly responded to that. And we all got excited about playing with the juxtaposition of the influencer energy framed with elevated, cinematic visuals.”

But to pull this off, LJ had a specific request: “I really pushed to shoot in LA because LA dogs are top-notch. I wanted movie dogs, professionals.”

Casting the canine stars was a process in itself, involving learning the dogs’ individual personalities, likes and dislikes, and importantly, if they were comfortable being in a food-focused environment amongst other dogs. “The process was super collaborative,” LJ explains. “The creative team and I looked at all the dogs, reviewed their looks and personalities, and asked the trainers a lot of questions. I asked detailed questions: Could they do this trick? Do they like working around other dogs? Will they eat with other dogs, specifically who?”

After assessing all of the animals, LJ and the team at BBH USA landed on the perfect combination of characteristics. “We needed dogs who weren’t just talented, but also played well together. So we actually cast a couple of besties,” she adds.

The next aspect of casting came with pairing a ‘voice’ to each dog. At first, they opted for traditional voiceover casting, but soon realised that the campaign called for a sense of spontaneity and unexpectedness, the kind of attitude found in improv actors. “We needed actors who could think about these dogs as characters and not worry about enunciation or making things sound too pretty,” says LJ.

The turning point of the campaign comes with the line, “But thankfully, dogs are dogs.” Proving that no matter how well-groomed or how many followers a dog has, their natural instinct – and taste for a good treat – will always reign true. However, LJ says that, surprisingly, this part of the spot was the hardest part to get right during the shoot.

“Ironically, chaos is the hardest thing to film with dogs. Every dog trainer will probably tell you that. Because the dogs have trained every day not to be chaotic, they’re trained to be well-behaved and act like humans. So when you say, ‘Don’t be a human, be an animal’, they’re confused.”

LJ found the solution to the dogs’ chaos-avoidant temperaments: “We had to choreograph the chaos.”

She explains, “We rigged plates with strings, placed treats under specific props, and created controlled disruptions to provoke certain reactions. One dog would jump on the table, another would flip a plate, but everything was mapped out.

“True chaos makes dogs nervous, so we had to make it feel organic without stressing them out. It was a very carefully manipulated scene – a ballet of bad behaviour, if you will.”

It could be assumed that a shoot involving so many dogs, props and tricks would amount to a certain number of animal-related mishaps. However, LJ’s cast of canines were true professionals… especially Candy, the diva-esque poodle who stars at the end of the spot.

“They were all great. Especially Candy, the poodle, who was a total pro. There was this moment where the prop menu wasn’t stiff enough for her dramatic drop, and she just looked at her trainer like, ‘What is this? This is beneath me.’ She had an attitude, in the best way.

“But [there were] no major issues. No meltdowns. Just a really well-run, well-planned shoot with dogs who came to work and earned their treats.”