This touching short from 'Isle of Dogs' animator launches premium dog food brand Ilume

The latest work from the animator behind blockbusters including “Isle of Dogs,” “Corpse Bride” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” isn’t headed for cinemas. Tobias Fouracre’s touching story about man’s best friend is the launch campaign from tech dog food brand Ilume.

The premium Australian-based brand pairs with an activity-tracker app, allowing the company to tailor meals specifically for your pooch. Made with agency 72andSunny, the campaign's launch spot features gorgeous stop-motion animation from Fouracre to tell a story that takes the word “stay” from a canine training command to the brand's philosophy centered on extending pets’ lives.

The spot follows the loving relationship between a young girl and her dog, Charlie. They play fetch and tug-of-war, give tickles and kisses and share many memories of love and laughter. However, the film takes a somber turn when the spirited score pauses for the two to gaze into one another’s eyes and the girl to say, “Stay.”

“We’re an agency of dog lovers, so we just clicked with the ilume team,” said Luke Martin, ECD of 72andSunny ANZ, in a statement. “Our idea was to reframe the dog command  ‘stay’ from being ‘stay there’ to ‘stay longer.’ From there, we knew we had something powerfully simple. We just needed the right person to film it. And when we managed to land Tobias, the animation supervisor of four Oscar-nominated movies, we knew we were in safe hands.”

The launch campaign is also supported by OOH, social, digital and audio activations. The company will launch a grant program for researchers studying dog nutrition and the brand teases plans to expand its offerings to markets beyond Australia.