Overview: Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab, alongside PetIQ’s PetArmor and Best Friends Animal Society, has launched the “Protect Playtime” initiative. This campaign integrates an AI-driven pet-matching tool on Amazon with Amazon Nova Reel-produced videos to promote pet adoptions from shelters. The tool uses natural language processing to connect potential adopters with suitable pets. A Glen Rose, Texas pilot in February 2026 led to 24 adoptions in a single day, quadrupling the previous record. Individualized video content for each animal is shared on Prime Video and Amazon Streaming TV ads until July 31, 2026.
Every 90 seconds
Best Friends Animal Society reports that every 90 seconds, a US shelter animal dies, with about 400,000 lost in 2025, despite nearly two-thirds of shelters reaching no-kill status. Facilities that haven’t achieved this lack resources, visibility, or adoption rates required to move animals faster than they arrive. The campaign, announced on April 9, 2026, is an effort by PetArmor, Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab, and Best Friends to bridge this gap using AI-assisted discovery, personalized generative videos, and direct shelter investment. The campaign name references PetArmor’s flea, tick, and parasite prevention products, framing protection as beginning with adoption. Best Friends, collaborating with over 6,000 shelters nationwide, provided the data infrastructure supporting the matching tool’s extensive reach. “Best Friends is working toward a future where no dog or cat dies in a shelter because they lack a home,” says CEO Julie Castle. “This campaign will significantly impact dogs’ and cats’ lives by introducing new ways to connect with them, and we’re honored to collaborate with PetArmor and Amazon.”
The matching tool and the Glen Rose pilot
The AI pet-matching tool at amazon.com/ProtectPlaytime processes natural language queries from adopters about various preferences to find pets from Best Friends’ partners that match these criteria. It simplifies the research process by combining inventories from over 6,000 organizations, reducing the need for separate searches. Additionally, the campaign invested in “Protect Playtime” physical spaces in shelters to allow animals to display their behaviors to potential adopters, overcoming stress behaviors that make animals seem less adoptable. A Valentine’s Day event in February 2026 at Glen Rose Animal Control in Texas tested this approach, leading to 24 adoptions in one day, four times the prior record. Kyle Lembke, PetIQ’s senior VP, presented the campaign as a continuation of the brand’s mission. “For 15 years, PetArmor has protected pets from outdoor dangers,” Lembke states. “Now, we’re protecting their opportunity for a loving home, empowering pets with AI-powered videos that visualize their future and creating spaces where they can reveal their personalities, eliminating barriers between sheltered pets and families that will cherish them.”
Nova Reel and the generative video aspect
For each animal, Amazon’s Brand Innovation Lab produced a personalized generative video via Amazon Nova Reel, the company’s AI video creation model on Amazon Bedrock. These videos visualize each pet in a home environment, helping adopters see the animal in a domestic setting rather than a kennel. Nova Reel allows multi-shot video sequences up to two minutes using text prompts and optional images, generating footage Amazon considers suitable for commercial use. Protect Playtime videos, showcased on Prime Video and Amazon Streaming TV ads through July 31, 2026, also appear in PetArmor’s Amazon Brand Store. The unique generative video for each adoptable pet wouldn’t be financially feasible using traditional methods; Nova Reel enables personalization across Best Friends’ partner shelters. The model gained attention beyond the campaign in April 2026 due to a lawsuit accusing Amazon of using scraped YouTube content for Nova Reel’s dataset without consent. Amazon hasn’t commented publicly. Lauren Anderson, Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab’s head, explained the campaign’s guiding principle: “The goal was to align everything with one question: ‘How can we help more sheltered pets find loving homes?’” she said. “This North Star directed every choice—AI matching, generative videos, shelter spaces. It’s a