SUB CATEGORY :

EFFECTIVE LOTUS: SMALL BUDGET

COMPANY ENTERING :

GREY MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

TITLE :

YOUR PLASTIC DIET

BRAND :

WWF

ADVERTISER :

WWF

AGENCY :

GREY MALAYSIA, KUALA LUMPUR

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER :

GRAHAM DREW

CREATIVE DIRECTOR :

HENG THANG WEI

COPYWRITER :

SELVA GENAPATHY

ART DIRECTOR :

RALVE KHOR

AGENCY PRODUCER :

SUZY CHAING

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR :

MARCUS SK

MARKETING COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR :

JO JAU

OTHER CREATIVE CREDITS :

KEVIN WONG

FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY :

MFX SDN BHD, KUALA LUMPUR

CAMPAIGN SUMMARY :

HOW DO YOU CREATE A CAMPAIGN THAT INFLUENCES OVER 131 NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, 15,000 LAWMAKERS, GENERATING 2 MILLION PLEDGES FROM PEOPLE FROM 181 COUNTRIES? BY MAKING IT PERSONAL FOR ALL 7.5 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH. WWF’S OBJECTIVE WAS TO GET GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD TO SIGN A BINDING TREATY AGAINST SINGLE USE PLASTICS. THIS ALSO INCLUDED POLICY-INFLUENCING BODIES SUCH AS THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS 97 MEMBER NATIONS. THE PROBLEM WAS, THE PLASTIC POLLUTION ISSUE IS NOTHING NEW. THE WORLD HAS BECOME USED TO PICTURES OF CHOKING SEABIRDS AND TRASH ISLANDS - WE THINK WE'RE DOING ENOUGH BY LIMITING OUR BAGS AND STRAWS. THE TRUTH IS - THEY MAKE UP LESS THAN 2% OF THE PLASTIC CHOKING OUR PLANET. THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT WAS TO MAKE THE ISSUE OF PLASTIC POLLUTION SO BIG, SO NOISY, SO WIDESPREAD THAT THEY COULD NOT IGNORE IT. WHAT PLASTIC OBJECT WEIGHS 5 GRAMS AND IS UBIQUITOUS AROUND THE WORLD, WITH 20 BILLION OF THEM IN USE? A CREDIT CARD. YOU ARE EATING A CREDIT CARD A WEEK. THIS DIRECT AND SINGLE-MINDED FACT BECAME THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY FOR THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN. IT MADE THE SCIENTIFIC FACTS TANGIBLE AND PLASTIC POLLUTION UNFORGETTABLE. IT MADE THE PLASTIC PROBLEM PERSONAL – THIS IS A PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT HAS PEOPLE’S NAME ON IT, IT’S WITH THEM EVERY DAY, NOW EVERYONE’S CARDS WERE TURNED INTO A PERSONALISED MEDIA CHANNEL. RESULTING IN THE LARGEST PUBLIC ACTION IN WWF'S 60 YEAR HISTORY - CONVINCING 2/3 OF THE WORLD'S GOVERNMENTS TO CALL FOR A NEVER SEEN BEFORE WORLD CHANGING TREATY. LATEST RESULTS: HTTPS://PLASTICNAVIGATOR.WWF.DE/#/EN/STORIES/?ST=0&CH=4&LAYERS=SURFACE-CONCENTRATION%7CPOLICY-COMMITMENTS-AREA%7CPOLICY-COMMITMENTS

THE BRIEF :

OBJECTIVES CAN BE MEASURED ACROSS THESE THREE PARAMETERS: 1: ATTITUDE - REACH KPI: 1.75 BILLION PEOPLE, 100,000 ORGANIC POSTS 2: BEHAVIOUR – ​PROVOKING ACTION FROM PEOPLE KPI: 1 MILLION SUPPORTERS, FROM 50 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 3: ACTION – ​QUANTIFIABLE ACTION BY GOVERNMENTS KPI: PUBLIC COMMITMENT OF AT LEAST 50 COUNTRY GOVERNMENTS

THE STRATEGY :

THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT PLASTIC POLLUTION IS TO GENERATE UNPRECEDENTED PUBLIC SUPPORT ON A GLOBAL SCALE THAT PUSHES GOVERNMENTS TO PASS LAWS AGAINST PLASTIC. ESSENTIALLY, A PLASTICS EQUIVALENT OF THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE. THE UNITED NATIONS THEN BECOMES THE IDEAL PLATFORM TO DELIVER THE CAMPAIGN’S MESSAGING WHICH RESULTS IN COUNTRIES PLEDGING TO A TREATY. ONE THAT REGULATES AND CONTROLS THE CREATION, USE, COLLECTION AND RECYCLING OF SINGLE-USE PLASTICS. THE UN ENVIRONMENT ASSEMBLY, WORLD'S HIGHEST-LEVEL DECISION-MAKING BODY ON THE ENVIRONMENT, BECOMES THE CENTRESTAGE FOR THE CAMPAIGN AS IT SETS THE PRIORITIES FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND DEVELOPS INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW. CHALLENGE WAS AT THREE LEVELS : CITIZENS OF THE WORLD KOLS AND INSTITUTIONS LAWMAKERS AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THE TREATY. THE SCIENCE WAS OUT THERE - WE KNEW THAT MICROPLASTICS HAD ENTERED OUR FOOD CHAIN AND ENVIRONMENT - WE WERE CONSUMING PLASTIC THROUGH THE WATER, AIR AND FOOD. WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH. PLASTIC IS INSIDE US RECENT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES SHOWED WE'RE CONSUMING MICROPLASTICS FROM FISH, SHELLFISH, SALT​,​ BEER, HONEY, SUGAR, BOTTLED WATER, TAP WATER, AND EVEN THE AIR. PLASTIC HAS ENTERED EVERY LEVEL OF THE FOOD CHAIN AND HAS EVEN ENTERED OUR BODIES AND THE FINDINGS REPORTED THAT ANYTHING BETWEEN 20-100,000 MICROPLASTICS WERE BEING CONSUMED BY THE AVERAGE HUMAN A YEAR. SCIENCE WAS AWARE OF THIS DISTURBING FACT, THE DATA WAS REPORTED ON AND OUT IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE. BUT IT WAS LOST AMONGST THE PILE OF OTHER ‘PLASTIC PANIC’ NEWS, OR IN THE SCIENCE PAGES. IT WAS A DEEPLY DISTURBING FACT, BUT THE REALITY WAS BURIED IN SCIENTIFIC DATA - THE AVERAGE PERSON ON THE STREET DID NOT HAVE A CLUE. INSIGHT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE PLASTIC’S IMPACT ON NATURE WHEN YOU’RE ALSO THE CREATURE EATING, DRINKING AND BREATHING THE POLLUTION. STRATEGY TURN AN ABSTRACT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM INTO A RELATABLE (DIGESTIBLE) HUMAN ONE BY MAKING THE DATA VIVID AND UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD - DEMONSTRATING TO PEOPLE THEY’RE NOW INVOLUNTARILY CONSUMING PLASTIC (POLLUTION). AS THE BEDROCK TO OUR CAMPAIGN, WE COMMISSIONED THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE IN AUSTRALIA TO ANALYSE A SCIENTIFIC STUDY ABOUT THE HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF MICROPLASTICS. AFTER 6 MONTHS OF STUDY AND PEER-REVIEW, THE STUDY FOUND THAT THE AVERAGE HUMAN CONSUMES APPROXIMATELY 100,000 MICROPLASTICS EVERY YEAR.

THE EXECUTION :

IDEA: YOUR PLASTIC DIET OUR DIETS NOW CONTAIN PLASTIC, WE ARE INEVITABLY CONSUMING IT, SO OUR BODIES ARE BECOMING INFESTED WITH PLASTIC POLLUTION. CREDIBILITY – DECODE THE SCIENCE THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE WAS COMMISSIONED TO ANALYSE SCIENTIFIC STUDIES ABOUT HUMAN CONSUMPTION OF MICROPLASTICS. IT FOUND THE AVERAGE PERSON CONSUMES AROUND 100,000 MICROPLASTICS EVERY YEAR.[​ I] CAMPAIGN-ABILITY – QUANTIFY THE DIET 100,000 MICROPLASTICS EQUATES TO APPROXIMATELY 250 GRAMS OF PLASTIC A YEAR = PEOPLE ARE INGESTING 5 GRAMS OF PLASTIC POLLUTION EVERY WEEK. WHAT PLASTIC OBJECT WEIGHS 5 GRAMS AND IS UBIQUITOUS AROUND THE WORLD, WITH 20 BILLION OF THEM IN USE?[​ II] A CREDIT CARD. YOU ARE EATING A CREDIT CARD A WEEK. THIS DIRECT AND SINGLE-MINDED FACT BECAME THE CENTRE OF GRAVITY FOR THE ENTIRE CAMPAIGN. IT MADE THE STATISTICS TANGIBLE AND PLASTIC POLLUTION UNFORGETTABLE. IT MADE THE PLASTIC PROBLEM PERSONAL – THIS IS A PIECE OF PLASTIC THAT HAS PEOPLE’S NAME ON IT, IT’S WITH THEM EVERY DAY, NOW EVERYONE’S CARDS WERE TURNED INTO A PERSONALISED MEDIA CHANNEL.

THE RESULT :

1: ATTITUDE ​ - REACH KPI: 1.75 BILLION PEOPLE, 100,000 ORGANIC POSTS ACHIEVEMENT: 5.2 BILLION PEOPLE, 600,000 ORGANIC POSTS. 300% OVERACHIEVED 2: BEHAVIOUR​ – PROVOKING ACTION FROM PEOPLE KPI: 1 MILLION SUPPORTERS, FROM 50 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. ACHIEVEMENT: 2 MILLION SUPPORTERS OVERACHIEVED BY 200% PLEDGES FROM 181 COUNTRIES. 320% OVERACHIEVED 3: ACTION – ​QUANTIFIABLE ACTION BY GOVERNMENTS KPI: PUBLIC COMMITMENT OF AT LEAST 50 ACHIEVEMENT: COMMITMENT FROM 131 COUNTRIES, 270% OVERACHIEVED THIS GLOBAL CAMPAIGN, THE BIGGEST SINGLE PUBLIC ACTION IN WWF’S 60 YEAR HISTORY RESULTED IN: 2 MILLION PEOPLE FROM 181 COUNTRIES SIGNED OUR PLEDGE, WHICH LED TO WWF HAVING THE WEIGHT OF PUBLIC SUPPORT TO LOBBY THE UN ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE. THAT IS 131 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD AGREEING TO THE NEED FOR A GLOBALLY BINDING TREATY ON PLASTIC. THE CAMPAIGN EVEN INSPIRED AND INFLUENCED THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATE TO INTRODUCE THE BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION ACT OF 2020, A BILL THAT REGULATES USAGE, PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF PLASTIC IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS IN TURN HAS LED TO ALMOST EVERY MAJOR COMMERCIAL PLASTIC MANUFACTURER (UNILEVER, COCA COLA, MONDALEZ, MARS ETC) JOINING THE CAMPAIGN.