To boost adoptions, we turned the most common vira-lata (mutt) in Brazilian shelters into a pedigree dog. The vira-lata caramelo — Brazil’s caramel-coated street dog — is a national icon, the king of memes, the most beloved dog in Brazil. It's almost the face on our 200-real bill. For God's sake, it's an immaterial cultural patrimony of our country. But, unfortunately, they are the most common dogs in shelters. After all, "vira-lata" literally means mutt. And mutts have a 90% lower chance of being adopted than dogs considered "purebred." But what does it mean to be purebred? A pedigree? Well, we are Pedigree. So we gave the Caramelos everything purebred dogs have. A genetic study of 350 dogs, run with DNA Pets, mapped the traits they actually share. A kennel club of their own — the Caramelo Kennel Club — backed by vets, geneticists and shelters. An official breed standard. Pedigree certificates, issued for real. And Brazil's first dog show exclusively for mutts. Adoptions rose 25%. Sales rose 22%. The campaign won a Titanium Lion at Cannes, a Graphite Pencil at D&AD and a Gran Effie.