8 MINUTE ANIMALS

Short List
Title8 MINUTE ANIMALS
BrandWWF-TRAFFIC CHINA
Product / ServiceWILDLIFE CONSERVATION
CategoryA01. Posters
EntrantOGILVY & 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

Credits

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

Brief Explanation

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.

The Brief

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.

How the final design was conceived

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.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

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.