Pedigree teased a mystery AI 'best friend', then revealed it matches adoptable dogs

In April 2026 Pedigree revealed it stood behind a mysterious campaign that had circulated on São Paulo's streets and social feeds: a new artificial intelligence that claimed it could find people a new best friend. Black-and-white pieces at strategic points across the city posed the idea without a brand, and influencer Felca amplified the debate by reacting to and questioning the use of AI for friendship.

The second phase named the sponsor and flipped the premise. Pedigree's point was that artificial intelligence is no substitute for a real friend — but its platform, Melhoramigo.ai, could help you find one: a dog available for adoption near you.

The platform works as a conversational compatibility test. Users answer questions about their personality and lifestyle, and the system matches them with dogs registered by partner NGOs; at launch it carried more than 300 dogs selected in partnership with Instituto AMPARA Animal.

Ricardo Marinho, marketing manager for Pedigree at Mars Pet Nutrition Brasil, framed the work as a new chapter in a 17-year adoption program, Adotar é Tudo de Bom, which the brand says has helped more than 88,000 animals find homes. Created with AlmapBBDO, the campaign was shortlisted in the Media Lions at Cannes 2026.

Let AI make the case for a real friend

The mystery phase borrowed AI hype to earn attention that the reveal then redirected toward adoption

The twist — AI is no substitute for a friend — pre-empts the skepticism such campaigns attract

Compatibility matching lowers the fear of a bad match, which is adoption's core friction

A working platform rather than a film keeps the brand useful after the campaign noise fades

A two-act reveal turns skepticism into an argument for your product: let the audience argue against the technology, then show it was a doorway to something real all along.

Melhoramigo.ai launched with more than 300 registered dogs from partner NGOs, with Instituto AMPARA Animal supplying and vetting the animals. The campaign added a tool to Pedigree's 17-year Adotar é Tudo de Bom adoption program, credited by the brand with more than 88,000 rehomed animals, and its Media Lions shortlisting at Cannes 2026 marked the campaign out among AI-era marketing for using the technology's hype to argue against substituting it for companionship.