When Donald Trump unilaterally decided to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, it gave Paris agency, .becoming an idea for the Surfrider Foundation Europe. The agency responded to unwitting absurd humour with crafted absurd humour – and a powerful act of advocacy. The idea is that if politicians feel entitled to rename bodies of water, why not do the same to remind the world what a respected and protected ocean should look like?
So the Make The Ocean Great Again initiative symbolically renames European aquatic sites on Google My Maps, assigning them meaningful names that highlight the urgency of ecological issues. The Atlantic Ocean becomes the North Atlantic right whale Oasis, Balearic Islands Beaches transform into the free from harmful UV filters coast, and many other sites are given names that embody a vision of a future where the ocean is preserved.
The renamed waters are:
- Norwegian Fjords –> THE BLOOMINGS DEPTHS OF KELP
- Balearic Islands –> THE FREE FROM HARMFUL UV FILTERS COAST
- Atlantic Ocean –> THE NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES OASIS
- Bay of Saint-Brieuc (Brittany, France) –> THE PERFECTLY BLUE WATER
- Beaches of Pornic (Loire-Atlantique, France) –> THE FREE NURDLES BEACHES
- Mediterranean Sea (Posidonia Seagrass of the Mediterranean Sea) –> THE BLUE FOREST OF THE SEA
- Txingudi Bay, Hendaye Bay of Regenerated Tides –> THE BIRD SHELTER
- Rosignano, Italy –> THE BYE BYE CHEMICALS FLOW
- The Bay of Tarragona –> THE NO-MICROPLASTIC BAY
- North Sea coast → THE PFAS-FREE COAS
The initiative aims to remind everyone that seas and rivers do not belong to political leaders but are a shared resource that must be protected for future generations. It encourages citizens and institutions to rethink their relationship with the ocean and its fragility.
Surfrider Foundation Europe is also inviting the public to contribute by sharing the campaign video and the map found on its social media platforms, @surfriderfrance and @surfridereurope.
“Our oceans, rivers, and coastlines deserve better than an arbitrary rebranding. Instead of politically annexing them, it is time to give them the names they truly deserve—names that remind humanity of its duty to respect and protect them,” statedAlexandre Decroix-Drouillard, creative director at .becoming.
Credits:
Client: Surfrider Foundation Europe
Client Team: Sarah Castagnet, Mariana Roudaut
Agency: .becoming
Strategic Planners: Camille Pottier, Chloé Chiche-Paolozzi
Creative Director: Alexandre Decroix-Drouillard
Associate Creative Director: Jean-Philippe Barray
Art Directors: Nathalie Langelier, Théo Damange
Copywriter: Emma Bernardi
Motion Design, AI Art: Julien Poncet, Théo Damange
Account Team: Alexandre Wajemus, Vickie Manchette
Sound Production & Voice-over: Sol.air x Capitaine Plouf
