Title | 8 MINUTE ANIMALS |
Brand | WWF-TRAFFIC CHINA |
Product / Service | WILDLIFE CONSERVATION |
Category | A01. Posters |
Entrant | OGILVY & MATHER SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Entrant Company | OGILVY & MATHER SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Advertising Agency | GEOMETRY GLOBAL Shanghai, CHINA |
Advertising Agency 2 | OGILVY & MATHER SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Production Company | PRO FILM Shanghai, CHINA |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Graham Fink | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising | Chief Creative Officer |
Francis Wee | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising Shanghai | Executive Creative Director |
Sean Sim | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising Shanghai | Executive Creative Director |
Eric Lum | Geometry Global Shanghai | Creative Director |
Wang Xieda | James Cohan Gallery Shanghai | Artist |
William Huen | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising Shanghai | Agency Producer |
Selin Shen | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising Shanghai | Pr Manager |
Camille Li | Ogilvy/Mather Advertising Shanghai | Account Coordinator |
Joan Zheng | Geometry Global Shanghai | Copywriter |
Besides creating public awareness, the main objective was to get the authorities -- i.e. China State Forestry Administration to commit to stronger action against the illegal wildlife trade. However, this was a big challenge as China is a country that is not known for wildlife conservation or environment protection.
According to the UN Environment Program, every 8 minutes a wildlife species disappears from the world. This rapid rate of extinction is shocking. Illicit demand for wildlife products was also accelerating the extinction rate -- especially with animals like tigers, rhinos and elephants. WWF-TRAFFIC wanted to draw attention to these vanishing species in China, where the consumption of endangered animals is fueling the illegal wildlife trade.
We got a contemporary Chinese artist who does calligraphy paintings. But instead of ink he uses water, on special absorbent paper. He created a poster series of ephemeral "8 Minute animals" -- done in real-time at high-traffic shopping malls. Because they were done in water, the animal paintings evaporated in about 8-minutes. Much like the real animals that are rapidly disappearing around the world. The audience saw this happening right before their eyes, driving home the sense of loss, and the message that Time is running out. The posters were repainted every 8 minutes, each time after the animals evaporated.
The objective was met, as the China State Forestry Administration took notice of the "8 Minute Animals" campaign. The authorities were moved by the paintings and communicated to WWF-TRAFFIC that they will table stronger measures against illegal wildlife trade in their 2014 National Agenda. To date, all Chinese passengers on outbound flights are sent text messages warning against buying illicit wildlife goods, with increasingly more arrests being made against wildlife smugglers and contraband products seized.