WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 29, 2025) – FEMA’s Ready Campaign and the Ad Council have partnered with DreamWorks Animation’s new film, Dog Man, based on the best-selling Dav Pilkey book series, for a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign. The campaign features the beloved canine crime-fighting hero spreading the message to children across the nation about the importance of being ready for the unexpected.
In DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming film, in theaters January 31, Dog Man must lean on his crime-fighting skills and planning abilities to stop the evil plots of Petey, the feline supervillain. His planning skills are being brought to life in the new PSA campaign, launching today, where Dog Man encourages kids to help their families prepare for emergencies. The initiative includes billboards and bus shelter advertising, as well as 30- and 15-second PSAs in both English and Spanish that are airing in donated media across the country.
"Empowering our children to be active participants in disaster preparedness is vital to creating a more prepared nation," said Lucas Hitt Acting Associate Administrator for FEMA’s Office of External Affairs. "This collaboration presents a unique opportunity to engage America's youth in a relatable and impactful way, harnessing the beloved characters of DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man to give the entire family the tools they need to be ready for anything."
Ready campaign messaging includes a four-step approach to preparedness: 1) Be informed about different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate protective action. 2) Make a family emergency plan including information on how to reconnect and reunite. 3) Build emergency supply kits to ensure preparedness whether at home, at work or in the car. 4) Get involved by finding opportunities to support community preparedness.
The new creatives are an extension of FEMA and the Ad Council’s ongoing partnership on the Ready campaign, which has helped generate more than 128 million visitors to Ready.gov and Listo.gov since its launch in 2003. The Ready Campaign is designed to educate and empower all Americans to prepare for and respond to disasters including earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires.
Launched in 2016 by Dav Pilkey—the #1 global bestselling author and award-winning illustrator of the Captain Underpants books—the Dog Man Scholastic series now includes 13 books. The series is one of the bestselling graphic novel series of all time with more than 60 million copies in print and translations in 47 languages. The series’ 2024 releases include Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, which became the #1 bestselling book in the U.S. and internationally, and Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, published December 3, 2024.
For more information on what to do before, during or after emergencies, visit Ready.gov and Listo.gov. Television stations can download advertisements from the Ad Council’s website. The PSA video is also available to view on ready.gov/videos.
###
About FEMA and the Ready Campaign
FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA’s Ready Campaign, launched in February 2003 is a national public service campaign designed to educate and empower the American people to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies and disasters. The goal of the campaign is to promote preparedness through public involvement.
Ready and its Spanish language version Listo ask individuals to do four key things:
- Stay informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses.
- Make a family emergency plan.
- Build an emergency supply kit.
- Get involved in your community by taking action to prepare for emergencies.
Follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fema.gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on X, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and via FEMA YouTube channel.
Follow Ready on social media at @ReadyGov on X, Ready on Facebook and ReadyGov on Instagram.
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
About the Ad Council
The Ad Council convenes creative storytellers to educate, unite and uplift audiences by opening hearts, inspiring action and accelerating change. For more than 80 years, the nonprofit organization and its partners in advertising, media, marketing and tech have been behind some of the country's most iconic social impact campaigns – Smokey Bear, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Love Has No Labels, Tear the Paper Ceiling and many more. With a current focus on mental health, gun violence prevention, combating hate and bias, the overdose crisis and other critical issues, the Ad Council's national campaigns encompass advertising and media content, ground game and community efforts, trusted messenger and influencer engagement, employer programs and other innovative strategies.
To learn more or get involved, visit AdCouncil.org, join the Ad Council's communities on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, and view campaign creative on YouTube.
About DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man
Part dog, part man, all hero.
From DreamWorks Animation—creators of the beloved blockbuster franchises Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Boss Baby—comes the canine-crime-fighting film adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s New York Times bestselling literary phenomenon: Dog Man.
When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over.
As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery, Get Out, Free Guy), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson; Saturday Night Live, The King of Staten Island). Petey’s latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man.
When Lil Petey falls into the clutches of a common enemy, Dog Man and Petey reluctantly join forces in an action-packed race against time to rescue the young kitten. In the process, they discover the power of family (and kittens!) to bring even the most hostile foes together.
Dog Man also stars Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Rango) as TV reporter Sarah Hatoff; Poppy Liu (Hacks, The Afterparty) as Petey’s assistant, Butler; Emmy nominee Stephen Root (Barry, King of the Hill) as Grampa; Billy Boyd (the Lord of the Rings franchise, Seed of Chucky) as Sarah’s cameraman, Seamus; and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) as Flippy the fish.
Dog Man is directed by Emmy winner Peter Hastings (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), whose credits include the groundbreaking animated series Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. The film is produced by Karen Foster (Spirit Untamed), who served as co-producer on DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon.
About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, within NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is a global family entertainment company with feature film and television brands. The company’s deep portfolio of intellectual property is supported by a robust, worldwide consumer products practice, which includes licensing, and location-based entertainment venues around the world. DWA’s feature film heritage includes many of the world’s most beloved characters and franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Spirit, Trolls, The Boss Baby and 2022’s The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have amassed more than $16 billion in global box office receipts. DreamWorks Animation’s television studio is one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality, animated family programming, reaching consumers in more than 190 countries with a diverse array of award-winning original content through streaming and linear broadcasters.
About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Media Contact:
Ben Dorf
The Ad Council
bdorf@adcouncil.org