Execution

Each year 12 - 15 million hectares of forest are lost to deforestation. WWF wanted to increase awareness regarding deforestation, and discussions of the issue on youth platforms by 20%. However, most urban communities were far removed from the problem. We found out through interviews that people are much more likely to be concerned about issues they experienced themselves, rather than something they read or were told about. Based on that insight, we came up with the idea of Vanishing Trees – making actual trees in the city appear as if they were disappearing. We achieved that optical illusion by wrapping the tree trunk and painting over it based on what was behind the tree, effectively making the tree trunk ‘vanish’. WWF has traditionally taken a non-provocative stance to raising awareness. This idea is the perfect solution to create impact without confrontation. To leave a lasting impression that trees were indeed vanishing, we decided that the best medium would be using trees themselves to send an impactful, shareable message. NGOs have traditionally used posters, brochures and flyers to promote a cause. In today’s world, these methods have slowly lost their relevance. Yet on the other hand, digital may not be the best medium either – it’s difficult to rally people behind a cause for nature purely through a screen.