DEEPER STUDY / O2 / 2013
Be More Dog: the original cat film
use an animal’s surprising change of behaviour to make curiosity about unfamiliar technology emotionally accessible.
AI-assisted research and analysis for the SNS Creative Fieldbook
Sources reviewed 6 November 2026
The original campaign creators did not write or endorse this analysis.
Original campaign credits: Agency: VCCP. Director: Keith Schofield. Production company: Caviar London.
Recognition: No award claim is made in this study.
Launch / edition: 2013. Award years: No award claim.
The problem. The idea. The experience.
O2 sought to encourage exploration of technology and greater confidence in its possibilities.
How the idea came to life
The 2013 film showed a cat embracing dog-like enthusiasm.
How it reached people
The idea appeared in television, stores, social media and online activities.
Supporting sources: brand → trade_press → brand →
Read the data in context.
The numbers below describe different kinds of outcomes. Their date, scope and reporting source are part of the result.
The reviewed sources document the execution but do not establish an independently attributable subscription effect.
Read the campaign story
O2 launched Be More Dog in 2013 with an animal behaving against type. The VCCP film followed a cat adopting a dog’s enthusiasm, including chasing and catching rather than remaining detached. O2’s own launch explanation connected the idea to curiosity about technology: a phone could offer more possibilities if its owner approached it with greater eagerness. The brand was selling a mobile service, but the first thing the viewer encountered was a character’s change of attitude.
The platform extended into television, stores and social activity. Its online experiences included Dog Bombing and a virtual Frisbee game, according to contemporary campaign coverage. These gave the animal metaphor small interactive expressions beyond the film. When O2 later introduced a different brand campaign, it described Be More Dog as a 2013 rallying cry intended to make customers more confident about new technology. That retrospective confirms the intended role, rather than independently proving that confidence increased.
Editorial interpretation: the cat works as a stand-in for an audience that might be indifferent, cautious or overwhelmed. The transformation makes the desired emotional shift visible without opening with device specifications. It also supplies a compact creative rule: show familiar reserve becoming playful participation. A strong metaphor can therefore organise a whole campaign, provided subsequent experiences connect the mood to something customers can actually do with the service.
The limitation is the distance between enjoyment and commercial understanding. A memorable animal can dominate recall while the provider or offer disappears. For another technology brand, the lesson is to use the emotional story as an invitation, then give people an achievable demonstration, feature or support route. Evaluation should check whether the character helps people identify and try the brand’s benefits, not only whether they enjoy sharing the film.
Show the desired attitude
Turn the audience’s desired attitude change into a visible character action.
Let people practise the idea
Extend the metaphor into interactions that let people practise the behaviour rather than only repeat the slogan.
Reconnect entertainment with the service
Connect the entertaining idea to a specific product experience and test whether audiences remember the provider.
A small test for another brief
A software team invites existing customers to try one overlooked useful feature through a playful curiosity-led message and an equally clear plain-language version.
Measure successful feature use and repeat use after a week, separating existing power users from first-time users.
Stop if enthusiasm increases clicks without helping people complete the task or creates pressure to use a feature they do not need.
- Turn the audience’s desired attitude change into a visible character action.
- Extend the metaphor into interactions that let people practise the behaviour rather than only repeat the slogan.
- Agree on one outcome, a reasonable comparison and the stop condition before release.
Sources & further reading.
These are educational analyses of external campaigns, not SNS client projects. Source-backed campaign details, editorial interpretation and proposed tests are distinguished. Brand and campaign-entry reports are not independent causal audits.
- O2: Live more. Do more. Be more dog. →brand · Supports: Technology-exploration proposition and television, retail and social extensions.
- LBB: O2 Urges Us to Be More Dog →trade_press · Supports: July 2013 publication, cat execution, interactive activities and production credits.
- O2: More for you campaign announcement →brand · Supports: Retrospective confirmation of the original campaign’s 2013 introduction and customer-confidence role.