AdMiration feature: Dulux's "Life is What You Paint It"

For this week's AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to Dulux's "Life is What You Paint It" ad — a campaign that marks 65 years since the iconic Dulux Dog first appeared on British TV screens.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens on a young woman bringing a new puppy — Dorothy, a fluffy Old English Sheepdog — into a home that is clearly still a work in progress. 

But Dorothy turns out to be no ordinary dog. As she finds her feet in her new home, she discovers she has a magical ability — shaking Dulux paint colors from her shaggy coat. As a puppy, the power is beyond her control. Splashes of color fly across freshly painted walls, and one particularly unfortunate delivery driver gets an unexpected makeover. 

As the film moves forward in time, Dorothy grows and so does her gift. What begins as a happy accident gradually becomes something purposeful. Each shake of her coat begins to mark a different moment in the lives of the people around her. The milestones aren't the ones you'd find on a conventional timeline. They're quieter, more personal and no less worth celebrating.

By the time Dorothy is fully grown, she has mastered her ability. The ad closes on a transformed home and the campaign’s tagline: "Life is what you paint it."

3 facts

• This is an exceptional ad from Dulux, landing in the top 10% of ads for its ability to drive long-term brand equity (Brand Impact: 94) and in the top 15% for its ability to drive short-term sales (Sales Impact: 87) — a result that speaks to the power of an emotionally resonant ad that also communicates clear product value.

• The ad generates a powerful emotional response, landing well above average for overall emotion (Overall Emotion: 69 vs 49 norm). This is even more pronounced among women, where Overall Emotion rises to 74. Love and Like are the dominant feelings throughout, reflecting just how warmly this story lands.

• The ad stands out as incredibly distinctive (Ad Distinctiveness: 4.3 vs. 3.7 norm), which helps it grab attention. Plus, the ad helps to differentiate the Dulux brand from other DIY home improvement supplies (Brand Distinctiveness: 4.1 vs. 3.6 norm) and make viewers feel more positive toward the Dulux brand (Brand Appeal: 4.2 vs. 3.8 norm). 

2 learnings

• A distinctive brand asset is one of the most powerful things a brand can own. Dorothy is a key source of love in this ad. Love peaks twice — first when the young Dorothy shakes paint for the first time at the beginning, and again when the fully grown Dorothy does the same at the end. It’s a great example of a DBA that people have developed a strong emotional attachment to over time. But Dorothy doesn’t just make this ad emotionally engaging, she makes it unmistakably Dulux. “Dog” is the top-cited way people identified the brand in the ad, with some people saying "I think of the dog as linked to the brand" and "The dog breed only means one thing and only one brand. DULUX PAINT.” That kind of distinctive brand linkage is what years of consistent use of DBA builds. 

• It’s rare (but possible) to drive both emotional and functional resonance within a single ad. Most ads do one or the other well. "Life is What You Paint It" does both, and the way it achieves that balance is worth unpacking. The color that pours from Dorothy's coat is actually doing two jobs at once. It communicates product value, with almost two thirds (65%) associating Dulux with a wide range of colors. At the same time, color is the ad’s emotional language, the thing that marks milestones, signals fresh starts and transforms spaces. We can see this reflected in our data, with 53% of viewers associating Dulux with inspiring creativity with color. Neither the emotional nor the functional story is getting lost in the other. This is a rare combination and it helps explain why both Brand Impact and Sales Impact scores are strong. As one respondent summed it up: "I like the way the ad turned a simple act of painting into a very beautiful moment, and it's really creative with colors and makes me curious about Dulux."

1 reflection

Are you using your brand's heritage assets as effectively as you could be?

The Dulux Dog is one of the most recognized brand mascots in British advertising, with 65 years of familiarity behind it. It would have been easy to simply bring her back and let the nostalgia carry the ad. What Dulux and Ogilvy UK have done instead is give her a job to do — a magical ability that becomes a metaphor for color transformation, tied to a cultural insight about how modern milestones are changing. 

As one respondent put it: “Just love the Dulux Dog but in a more trendy and modern way and all the colours that were displayed in the ad.”

The result is that Dorothy isn't just warming hearts, she's actually driving the brand's strongest associations and tying the emotional peaks of the ad to the product itself. The heritage asset and the core message have become one cohesive story. 

For any brand sitting on a legacy asset (a mascot, a sonic, an iconic visual) this is the question worth asking: is it speaking the language of your audience today?

"Life is What You Paint It" was created by Ogilvy UK and marks 65 years since the Dulux Dog first graced British TV screens. In 1961, a crew member's Old English Sheepdog, Dash, wandered into shot during a Dulux ad shoot. The director loved the footage and kept it in. What began as a happy accident became the very thing that would define the brand for generations.

The campaign is grounded in a clear cultural insight — that traditional milestones like marriage and having children are happening later, or differently, than for previous generations.

Becoming a pet parent, starting a side project, moving on after a relationship ends — Dulux is making the case that there is a whole spectrum of other moments that deserve to be celebrated.

Stephen Coghlan, Marketing Director at AkzoNobel UK & Ireland, said: "Life is what you paint it puts our charming mascot firmly back into the spotlight, 65 years since stealing the nation's hearts. A perfect blend of celebrating the longevity of Dulux while meeting consumers where they are today."

Dulux delivered a highly relatable spot, landing the top 15% for potential to drive short-term sales and the top 10% of ads in potential to drive brand equity over the longer term (Sales Impact: 87, Brand Impact: 94).

The first job of any ad is to be noticed and remembered — and on both counts, this ad does exactly that. This is clearly a spot that is highly distinctive (Ad Distinctiveness 4.3 vs 3.7 norm; Brand Distinctiveness 4.1 vs 3.6) and it stood out enough to grab the attention of the audience (Claimed Attention 4.2 vs 3.8 norm). 

What people remember about the story is quite telling. "Dog" is recalled by 64% of viewers and it’s the single most mentioned element of the entire ad, followed by "paint" (55%) and "colours" (46%), before "Dulux" itself (32%). In many cases, "Dulux" appears in recall responses specifically in the context of "the Dulux Dog,” meaning the mascot and the brand are recalled as one. This is precisely what a distinctive brand asset is supposed to do. 

Dorothy is making the ad impossible to forget, and bringing the brand with her.

Some respondents shared:

• "It was good to see the old English sheepdog featuring prominently as this will always be associated with Dulux."

• "I like this advert because the playful dog and colourful paint splashes make it fun."

• "The dog is just so cute, and it relays real life events that happen to people."

• "Just love the Dulux dog but in a more trendy and modern way and all the colours that were displayed in the ad."

The warmth viewers feel towards Dorothy isn't just showing up in what they remember but also in how the ad makes them feel. 43% of people loved the ad (vs 28% norm) and another 43% liked it (vs 47% norm), so the vast majority of people walked away genuinely moved. 

The second-by-second emotional trace reveals that Love peaks twice. The first peak arrives in the opening seconds of the film, when Dorothy as a puppy shakes paint for the very first time, immediately winning viewers over. She’s not just winning hearts, she’s making people laugh too.

Laughter spikes in the early moments of the ad, during the paint chaos and the “don’t you dare” directed at the mischievous puppy. That blend of warmth and humor is part of what makes the ad so easy to connect with. 

The second, and slightly higher, Love peak comes towards the end of the ad as the fully grown Dorothy uses her gift to mark the milestones of the people around her.

Rather than dropping off after that peak, Love remains elevated through the final stretch of the spot, with the music building at the same time. The ad sustains its warmth all the way through to the closing frame — suggesting that Love is the feeling viewers are left with when the Dulux logo appears.

Enjoyment (4.2 vs 3.8 norm), Musical Appeal (4.1 vs 3.7 norm) and Viral Potential (63 vs 53 norm) all come in above norm too, with respondents specifically calling out the music and the warm tone of the storytelling:

• "I like the music choice, song and visuals — it grabbed my attention."

• "Nice music, gentle feel."

• "It was colourful, warm and fun."

It’s worth noting that viewers aren't just charmed by Dorothy — they're connecting with what she represents. The cultural insight at the heart of "Life is What You Paint It" has clearly resonated with the audience. 

Relevance scores well above norm (4.0 vs 3.5 norm) and Brand Meets Needs comes in at 4.3 (vs 3.9 norm). The key messages also land clearly and credibly, confirming that neither the emotional nor the functional message is getting lost in the storytelling.

Plus, almost two thirds of viewers associate Dulux with a wide range of colors (65%) after watching the ad, while more than half associate the brand with inspiring creativity with color (53%) and being a trusted brand (51%). 

This is also reflected in what respondents described they liked about the ad: "I like the way the ad turned a simple act of painting into a very beautiful moment, and it's really creative with colours and makes me curious about Dulux."

What a heartwarming ad from Dulux that’s achieved just the right balance —  warm enough to be loved and clear enough to convert. 

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