Teenagers are idiots. Adopt a dog.

A few trees down from Ad Nut lives a really annoying family of squirrels. The parents go out on long gathering expeditions while their rapidly growing offspring use the opportunity to invite all the young squirrels in the neighbourhood over.

All the noisy chattering and discarded acorn shells on the grass below inevitably attracts murderous beasts of the canine variety and then the real fun begins. Any squirrel with a half a brain knows that when dogs come around the thing to do is take great pleasure in chattering away at them, knowing they cannot climb trees. 

But this young gang of squirrels must be losing their minds because instead of safe taunting, they opt for dangerous provocation. Deciding they want to become flying squirrels, they daftly (not deftly) grab a big leaf in each paw and attempt to glide over said murderous beasts. But leaves are not patagium, which should be obvious but somehow isn't to them. As a result some of them barely escape with their lives but not their tails.

The point to Ad Nut's regaling of this tale of tails is that teenagers can make unsensible choices at times much to the dismay and incomprehension of parents or other adults. 

And that thing Ad Nut said about them having half a brain—it's actually true! According to Dr. Frances Jensen of Harvard Medical School, “the frontal lobe is the seat of executive function, a term for the cognitive processes that allow us to plan, make decisions and judgments, formulate insight, and assess risk. The delayed maturation of connections contributes to teenagers’ risk-taking. Their frontal lobes are simply not yet fully online.”  

This information comes courtesy  of a new audio campaign from Pedigree and the folks at BBDO Colenso.  The three radio recordings, narrated by 'an eccentric German psychiatrist' point out all the various stupid ways teenagers can act, turning themselves into "stunt doubles of your little angel".

Have a listen: 

"He used to melt you heart. Today he burned down your shed."  That about sums it up.

So how to get your teenager back to melting hearts?  Adopt a dog, says Pedigree. 

The campaign directs listeners to PedigreeTeenagers.com where families can find a local shelter dog that matches their teenager.

“Our Pedigree brand purpose is to feed the good that dogs bring to the world, by helping every dog find a loving home," says Mars marketing manager Joe Lanham. "This campaign reminds us that dogs can bring out the best in anyone. Even irrational teenagers. Ultimately, we’re excited to encourage parents to adopt a dog, and help more dogs find a loving home to call their own.”

Si Vicars, CCO at Colenso BBDO, then piles on: “Dogs bring out the good in us. They support us, give us purpose, fix our bad days, and remind us we are loved. No one needs that more than teenagers.”

It's unsurprising for Ad Nut to hear this from Pedigree and Colenso, the dream team behind Selfie Stix app and filters for dogs, a return-on-love meter for dog adopters and a series of books for dogs.

Ad Nut tries very hard to understand this bond between humans and dogs, but as you might know feels very differently towards murderous beasts. So while Ad Nut has full admiration for a hilarious radio campaign pointing out some hard truths about some (not all) teens, the leap in logic here to solve teenage idiocy by bringing a dog into the home is a little like grabbing two leaves and jumping out of a tree. 

CREDITS

Client: MARS
Client: Joe Lanham - Marketing Manager, Karl Bartrum  - Marketing Assistant
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Sound: Franklin Road
Media Agency: Wavemaker

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.