Lyka Celebrates ‘Poo Glorious Poo’ In Broadway-Inspired Musical

Aussie pet food brand Lyka has released ‘Poo Glorious Poo’ – a dog poo-inspired musical (or ‘poo-sical’) set to the tune of ‘Food Glorious Food’ from ‘Oliver!’.

The film from 72andSunny Sydney – the first work as part of a project-based partnership – uses all the joy and colour of a Broadway production to rejoice in really great dog poo. It’s a far cry from the category’s usual sentimentality, and was led by a world-class team: music and composition by Elliot Wheeler (‘Elvis’, ‘Strictly Ballroom’), choreography by Josh Cesan, and direction from Joel Kefali via Good Oil.

Whilst the team “weren't setting out to reject category norms,” Lyka CMO Cam Luby told LBB, “We were driven to focus on what customers truly care about.

“Emotional storytelling has been the default in pet food for as long as we've had pets, to the point where dog parents now take it for granted. So rather than follow category conventions, we built the work around something owners genuinely pay attention to and talk about.”

Cam joined the brand as CMO in October following his departure from Optus, in what Lyka founder Anna Podolsky called a defining moment for the business, as it aims to cement “Lyka as a household name” and “[redefine] how Australians think about pet health”.

"Dog parents want their dogs to be happy and healthy, and one of the health signs parents can look at is their dogs’ poo,” he added.

“That makes a great dog poo worth singing about. What I love about this work is while the rest of the category serves up slow-motion best-friend montages, we're celebrating that joyous, proud moment when you look down and know you're doing right by your mate.”

‘Poo Glorious Poo’ is the second Lyka ad in a row to focus on dog poo, with October’s ‘The Brutal Pick Up’ spoofing horror movies in a campaign via independent creative agency OUTSIDE IN and produced by DIVISION.

Asked if there was any hesitation about continuing to put poo in the spotlight, Cam said “None.”

“Lyka isn't a pet food brand; it's a pet health company with the ambition to extend dogs' health span so that they thrive well into old age. The clearest and most honest day-to-day signal of a dog's health is their poo. Every dog parent knows it. For them, a great poo is the sign of a great product living up to its promise.”

72andSunny International CCO Justine Armour said the team set out to create “real entertainment” with “scale, ambition, and craft” – “not a traditional pet food ad.”

“The strength of this idea is that it takes a deeply human truth every dog owner recognises and turns it into something joyful, unforgettable and culturally impossible to ignore,” she continued.

“We wanted to redefine what the category looks and feels like, so we needed to take a big creative swing.”

The campaign rolls out across TV, social, influencer, OOH, radio, and integrated broadcast partnerships from May 25th. It is underpinned by Australia's first peer-reviewed fresh dog food study, conducted by the University of Sydney with the Charles Perkins Centre and published in Frontiers. The research found dogs fed Lyka showed visibly improved stool quality, greater gut microbiome diversity, steadier blood sugar, and more favourable appetite-hormone responses than dogs fed kibble, with results in as little as two weeks.

Lyka’s co-founder and vet Dr Matthew Muir said, “As more Australians treat pets like family and look for healthier food choices, the findings mark an important milestone in understanding what dogs truly thrive on.

“The study is part of a long-term commitment to lifting standards across the industry through transparency, accountability and evidence-led innovation.”

72andSunny noted, “Entertainment and attention come first; science comes second.” The hero film is made to entertain, the agency explained, while the science will show up more in short format cutdowns, OOH executions, and another campaign aimed at vets and dog parents.

Earlier this month, ​72andSunny Sydney appointed Nic Buckingham as executive creative director, following the departure of chief creative officer Wez Hawes.

Nic joined the leadership team with managing director Sophie Sykes and executive strategy director Alexandra Nel. He has worked with clients such as the Grammys, Carlton Dry, and Intel, and talent such as Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, and LeBron James.