Brief Explanation

On the 23rd of September 2014, the world’s leaders gathered in New York, to attend the United Nations Climate Summit. On the agenda was the urgent action needed to preserve the planet and the future of mankind. We created a global campaign designed to make it unlike any other global Summit before. For the first time ever, we gave a voice to a group that has the most to win or lose from the discussions and decisions that are arrived at – our kids. And, in the process, did something previously considered impossible – WE GOT THEM INTO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. To sit alongside 160 heads-of-state and do what kids do best – ask ‘why?’ Our strategy was to put a new kind of pressure on world leaders who were attending the Summit and deciding their climate commitments. Appealing to them as parents, not merely as politicians.

The Brief

There have been plenty of global gatherings on climate change. All of which have failed to illicit meaningful commitments to climate action. And none of which have ever included those who will inherit the mess we leave – our kids. The UN Climate Summit in September of 2014 presented a significant opportunity to do something that had never been done before. Our objective was to capitalize on the massive amount of hype already surrounding the event and create more of our own. Turning the tables on climate change deniers who had the majority of voice in the media around the Summit.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Despite not using any traditional media, the campaign attracted global media attention reaching 95 million people. The Youtube recruitment and vlogger films alone reached 10 million views in the first four days. The AskWhyWhyNot? landing page received more than 2 million clicks and the online activity, over 450 million impressions. It armed a 400,000-strong rally that stretched 80 blocks of Manhattan in the days before the Summit. A film created in collaboration with Vice Media and documenting the 8 winners journey to the UN, was introduced by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and actress Li Bing Bing, in the United Nations General Assembly, to kick-off the Summit. And, most importantly, the campaign gave birth to an ideology of interrogation, directed squarely at climate inaction.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

In keeping with Climate Reality Project’s mission to take ‘share of voice’ from climate deniers and inspire meaningful commitments to carbon emission reductions, our creative execution effectively put pressure on world leaders by creating a global groundswell among the world’s youth and wrestling ‘share of voice’ away from the ‘denier camp’ during this significant global political event.