TBWA Media Arts Lab recently launched a star-studded new campaign called “Nature Is Speaking” for Conservation International (CI), the nonprofit environmental organisation based in Arlington, Virginia. The bold and cinematic ads, which make up the bulk of the campaign, see Hollywood megastars such as Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Kevin Spacey and Penelope Cruz as elements of nature, who inform the viewer that the environment is in grave danger and that a serious reform is an immediate concern. It sends a quite blunt message about the way in which people abuse nature, and reinforces the idea that whilst nature doesn't need people, we need nature.
Julia Roberts – Mother Nature
The campaign, which debuted at the SXSW Eco festival and was rolled out on YouTube earlier this week, consists of videos showcasing spectacular views of oceans, forests and deserts, as the assorted stars make their pleas for environmental reform. The video starring Julia Roberts as Mother Nature was highlighted on conservation.org, and functions as the campaigns introduction and centre point. Other videos in the campaign, which can all be viewed on the Conservation International YouTube channel, feature Ford as The Ocean, Spacey as The Rainforest, Cruz as Water, and Robert Redford and Edward Norton as The Redwood and The Soil respectively.
Harrison Ford – The Ocean
The videos were created by advertising legend Lee Chow, who was also responsible for Apple's famous “Think Different” campaign. Chow said that they “Thought the idea of giving Nature a voice (Nature having been around billions of years longer than humans) might make it clear to all of us that the planet will evolve with or without humans.” Chow believes that “If you want a lot of people to care about what you care about you need to hit an emotional chord that isn’t based on fear or heavy-handed tactics,” and feels that by framing this campaign around the choice between mutually assured destruction or survival they have found “A balanced message that everyone can get on board with.”
Kevin Spacey – The Rainforest
Dr. M. Sanjayan, executive vice president and senior scientist at Conservation International, feels that "By making it clear that people need nature to survive,” they are shifting the conversation around and “Making the movement relevant to entirely new audiences.” The organisation's CEO and co-founder Peter Seligman, said he's been “Trying for a while now to figure out why the environmental community is so ineffective at communicating that humanity needs nature.” In order to find a way to convey this message, he sought the council of CI board member Laurene Powell Jobs, who in turn directed him towards her friend Chow. Seligman calls Chow “An extraordinary person,” and believes that “If anyone can get us on the right track, he can.”
Penelope Cruz – Water
The Nature Is Speaking campaign has been two years in the making. Seven short films are already in the bag, but there are even more in the works and Seligman hopes the campaign doesn't end there. He hopes that through social media, the message will spread organically. He says he would “Love to see kids with YouTube, and university film schools, using some of this footage and coming up with their own ideas,” and adds that “We're no longer in the era of just controlled media. This hopefully will get out of control.” As well as its celebrity backing (Ford has been involved with the organisation for over 20 years), the campaign also has the support of HP, who will be donating over $1 million for those who re-tweet using the #NatureIsSpeaking hashtag.
Official Conservation International Website
Official TBWA Media Arts Lab Website
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and environmentally conscious individual from Kidderminster in the UK who always recycles. When it's convenient (jokes).
