Independent Creative Exploration// DARK MATTER GRID / CASE STUDY P07

ADVERTISING / INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN / EXPERIENCE / MOTION

FEBREZE / UNTAMED

An integrated advertising platform that treats pet odor as a playful case of mistaken identity and makes the reveal the campaign behavior.READ THE STORY ↓

A hand peeling a tiger sticker from one Febreze magazine page to reveal the household cat underneath

DISCIPLINEADVERTISING / INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN / EXPERIENCE / MOTION

ROLECONCEPT + ART DIRECTION + COPY + EXPERIENCE DESIGN

PROJECT TYPESPECULATIVE INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN

PATHWILD ODOR → PEEL → PET REVEALED → PRODUCT PROOF

THE CHALLENGE

Start with the tension.

Pet odor is familiar, embarrassing, and easy to ignore. A conventional product demonstration would disappear into the category. The campaign needed a memorable visual metaphor for how dramatically a small household pet can make a room smell, plus a device that could work as both communication and participation.

02 / THE ORGANIZING IDEA

“When the odor turns your pet into a wild animal, peel back the wild and reveal the pet you know.”

THE DESIGN LOGIC

How the system works.

EXAGGERATE THE ODOR

A tiger, polar bear, skunk, deer, or lion makes the invisible problem immediately visible and gives every execution a comic surprise.

MAKE THE AD PHYSICAL

The wild animal is a removable sticker, turning the audience from viewer into participant and giving the comparison a satisfying reveal.

KEEP THE PET AS THE PUNCHLINE

Under every exaggerated animal is the familiar household pet, plus the product that restores the room to normal.

DESIGN ONE REPEATABLE BEHAVIOR

Peel, swipe, lift, tap, scan, and reveal are channel-specific versions of the same evergreen campaign idea.

THE VISUAL LANGUAGE

One page. Two identities.

The campaign is one physical advertisement, not a side-by-side comparison. A die-cut wild-animal layer sits directly over the household pet. The reader lifts the corner, peels away the exaggerated smell, and reveals the familiar animal and Febreze underneath. Every image shows the idea as a tactile interaction in context.

A hand peeling a polar bear sticker from a single poster to reveal the puppy underneath — PRINT MECHANIC / LARGE FORMATONE PAGE, MID-REVEAL

Macro detail of fingers lifting a die-cut skunk sticker to reveal a cat beneath — PRINT MECHANIC / DETAILTHE MATERIAL MAKES THE IDEA CLEAR

A premium Febreze creator mailer with peel-and-reveal animal cards and product sampling — DIRECT / CREATOR ENGAGEMENTTHE REVEAL ARRIVES AT HOME

APPLICATION

The peel escapes the page.

Once the physical interaction is clear in print, the same removal behavior expands into high-reach outdoor, retail, and digital formats. Transit shelters preserve the physical lift-tab; motion-responsive screens turn a hand gesture into the peel; retail displays invite a product trial; AR brings the reveal into the pet owner’s home.

A commuter physically peeling a tiger layer from an interactive Febreze transit shelter — INTERACTIVE OOH / PHYSICALTHE STREET PEELS BACK THE WILD

A commuter swiping a skunk layer from a responsive subway screen to reveal a household cat — DIGITAL OOH / MOTION SENSORA GESTURE TRIGGERS THE REVEAL

A pet owner lifting a clean white peel layer to reveal a tiger portrait above a household cat at a Febreze retail display — RETAIL / PRODUCT TRIALTHE MECHANIC CONTINUES AT SHELF

A pet owner using a mobile AR slider to transform a tiger overlay into their household cat — MOBILE AR / AT HOMEFIND YOUR PET’S WILD SIDE

STORYBOARD TO MOTION

Participation makes the story move.

Animation preserves the six-beat structure: wild animal enters, mischief escalates, the line lands, the household pet replaces it, Febreze appears, and the odor is tamed. Live activations make that same reveal personal. Visitors peel back an animal portrait, uncover their own pet, capture the moment, and leave with a shareable print and product trial.

A dog owner peeling a lion layer from a portrait panel to reveal their dog at a dog park photo studio — COMMUNITY / DOG PARK STUDIOTHE REVEAL BECOMES A KEEPSAKE

ORIGINAL STORYBOARD / BROUGHT TO LIFETHE OTTER
BECOMES THE PUPPY.

Six frames. One continuous reveal. The pacing preserves the original storyboard while adding movement, rhythm, and a clean product finish.

01 / 06THE WILD ANIMAL ENTERSMISCHIEF BEGINS

02 / 06THE ANIMAL MOVESTHE LINE IS REVEALED

03 / 06THE HEADLINE LANDSMISCHIEF AND MAYHEM

04 / 06THE PET ARRIVESTHE SCALE SHIFTS

05 / 06THE FAMILIAR PET WINSLOYAL AND LOVING

06 / 06THE PRODUCT RESOLVESTAME THE ODOR

A person interacting with the Febreze Untamed peel-and-reveal campaign

WILD ODOR→PET REVEALED

STORYBOARD / ANIMATEDBIG CAT → LITTLE CAT

WILD ODOR→PET REVEALED

STORYBOARD / ANIMATEDHUGE AND FLUFFY → SMALL AND PUFFY

FILM + CTV

Six- and fifteen-second spots repeat the transformation with a new wild/pet pairing, room, and odor occasion.

SOCIAL MOTION

Press-and-hold stories, swipe reveals, polls, and fast reels let the audience trigger the transformation.

DYNAMIC OOH

Motion panels shed the wild layer as a passerby approaches, swipes, or moves through the frame.

LIVE PORTRAITS

Pop-ups and dog-park studios turn a visitor’s own pet into the reveal and a take-home print.

PARTNER NETWORK

Pet stores, groomers, shelters, and apartment buildings become trusted places to discover and try the idea.

EVERGREEN SERIES

New pets, wild metaphors, seasonal odor moments, and community stories extend the platform without changing its behavior.

THE RESULT

A system with gravity.

Untamed grows from a tactile print idea into a full participation platform. One recognizable behavior, the reveal, connects product proof, comedy, trial, personalization, and sharing across print, direct mail, outdoor, transit, retail, ecommerce, social, AR, film, creator content, pet-care partners, adoption programs, residential sampling, and live experience.