- Josh Hutcherson is returning as brand ambassador for Hill's Pet Nutrition in NBCUniversal Local's Clear The Shelters, Hill's ninth year backing the campaign and its first as presenting sponsor.
- The 2026 drive runs August 1–31, with fundraising open through September 15; last year's campaign found homes for over 160,000 pets and raised more than $628,000.
- Hutcherson, owner of rescue dogs Driver and Manchi, first partnered with Hill's on the 2025 campaign.
- The reunion lands as Hutcherson comes off "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" and heads into "The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping," out November 20, 2026.
Josh Hutcherson is back in the shelter-pet spotlight, reuniting with Hill’s Pet Nutrition as brand ambassador for NBCUniversal Local’s Clear The Shelters, the nationwide adoption and donation campaign running August 1–31, with fundraising continuing through September 15. It’s Hill’s ninth straight year supporting the initiative and its first as presenting sponsor.
Hutcherson, who shares his home with rescue dogs Driver and Manchi, first partnered with Hill’s for last year’s campaign, which pushed Clear The Shelters to a record: over 160,000 adoptions and more than $628,000 raised, its best fundraising total since 2020. Since launching in 2015, the campaign has driven over 1.3 million adoptions and $5.6 million in donations.
The need remains real: Shelter Animals Count reported that 147,000 animals were still added to the U.S. shelter system by the end of 2025, and Hill’s own research found that large dogs spend 70% more time waiting in shelters than small ones.
“Helping shelter pets is a cause that’s close to my heart,” Hutcherson said, pointing to Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love program, which has helped more than 16 million cats and dogs find homes over two decades.
Hill’s SVP of U.S. Marketing, Carrick Massey, said Hutcherson’s “platform and passion” will help “remove barriers to adoption.”
The deal adds to a small, selective endorsement slate for Hutcherson, who partnered with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and streetwear label Late Checkout on the global “Late Checkout: A Ritz-Carlton Story – Chapter II” campaign in October 2024.
Hill’s has leaned on relatable, cause-driven faces before, too, having worked with NFL receiver Chris Godwin, YouTuber Jackson Galaxy, actress Cecily Strong, and influencers Valeria Nathali Rangel and Hannah Shaw.
It’s part of a bigger 2026 pattern of brands using familiar faces in campaigns: Reese Witherspoon fronted a Taika Waititi-directed Wells Fargo campaign, Randall Park stepped into Priceline’s Negotiator role, and Sopha Dopha turned a viral moment into a formal Glassons deal.
Takeaways
This isn’t Hill’s testing the waters; it’s a second year with Hutcherson, and now he’s fronting the brand’s biggest-ever Clear The Shelters commitment as presenting sponsor. That’s a vote of confidence that a genuine pet owner outperforms a generic celebrity face for cause marketing.
And with Sunrise on the Reaping landing in November, Hill’s is essentially banking a rising media moment into an August adoption push.
Does knowing Hutcherson actually owns rescue dogs make this campaign feel more credible to you than a typical celebrity tie-in? Could Hill’s “presenting sponsor” upgrade push rival pet brands to compete for bigger billing in future Clear The Shelters campaigns?
