Why is this work relevant for PR?

The animated short film received 3.56 million broadcasts on the People’s Daily video website and 35.2 billion total readings on Chinanews.com.

Background

In recent years, the number of sharks has plummeted, and one-third of the sharks on the planet are facing extinction. More than 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins. According to the survey, China is the world's largest consumer and trader of shark fins, and wedding banquets are the mainstream market for shark fin consumption. In southern China, there has always been a tradition of serving guests with shark fin soup at wedding receptions. Being cut off their fins and abandoned to die is the ultimate fate of a lot the sharks.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We are inspired by the auspicious and festive celebrations of Chinese weddings and traditional Chinese calendar elements, and proposed the creative theme of “Celebrate marriage, refuse the slaughter of sharks”. Using woodcut printmaking style, we created a 40 meters long poster that showcases the shark fin trade chain behind Canton wedding reception. In the animated short film, the montage view from the wedding reception to the fishing boats reveals the cruelty of killings behind the wedding banquet and explains the close connection between shark fin wedding and marine ecology in many aspects.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

One-third of the sharks on the planet are facing extinction. More than 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins. China is the world's largest consumer and trader of shark fins, and wedding banquets are the main market of shark fin consumption. In southern China, there has been a tradition of serving guests with shark fin soup at weddings. The celebrations of Chinese weddings are considered auspicious. We take inspiration from the tradition of choosing a lucky day from the Chinese calendar to get married.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The animated video illustrations are visually presented in a unique woodcut print. The film uses a large number of montages. The story is progressive and full of twists and turns. It reveals the cruelty and killing behind the wedding banquet and is thought-provoking. At the same time, the film also incorporates a large number of Lingnan cultural elements and architectural landscapes, reflecting the rich southern customs, allowing the plot to be more substituting. In addition to the theme animation video, we also created a moving "Hundred Wedding Banquet" H5. The creation was inspired by the famous Song Ze Duan of the Northern Song Dynasty, "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", while the story background was placed in the traditional wedding banquet in the Guangfu area.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

The poster was launched in outdoor platforms such as metro stations and airports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The poster is combined with mobile phone H5 to trigger interaction on social media that led to second transmission. The animated short film was launched on major video platforms. It has received 3.56 million broadcasts on CCTV and The People’s Daily video website, and 1.5 billion total readings on Chinanews.com. It was features by mainstream media such as South China Daily, Beijing Evening News, Jiemian news, Art and design. The media reports have been widely disseminated and re-posted nationwide. The public's response to the shark fin free wedding campaign has been very positive so far.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

The celebrations of Chinese weddings are considered auspicious. We take inspiration from the tradition of choosing a lucky day from the Chinese calendar to get married.