It’s not unusual for a Christmas ad to bring a tear to your eye, but J.Walter Thompson’s ad for WWF stands out from the clutter.
It’s the story of a sick tiger – sick in bed in a home in suburbia in the UK. The family who lives there nurse him back to health (like they would a sick child). Then he leaves, through the kitchen door, to the jungle. If you didn’t have a tearful moment up until this point, you will when the title fades up. It reads, “They need you.”
The CGI-enhanced tiger and his doting family are hoping to raise awareness of the plight of the world’s tigers during the time of kindness and giving (which is what Christmas should be, is it not?)
The ad launches at a critical time, less than one week from the mid-point of a 12-year global goal to double wild tiger numbers by 2022. In 2010, governments of the 13 tiger range countries, together with organisations including WWF, set an ambitious and visionary conservation goal, to double the number of wild tigers by 2022 – the next Chinese Year of the Tiger. This goal is called Tx2.
The campaign also includes a personalised book for children, which will be sent to those who donate after they have made their contribution.
The strategy, #iProtectTigers, that Walter Thompson London created, moves away from the traditional “adopt a” mechanic, in which the charity protects the animal with money from donations. It offers people the chance to do the protecting themselves as Tiger Protectors.
Jasper Shelbourne, creative director at J. Walter Thompson London, commented, “By making people Tiger Protectors we are bringing the audience much closer to the action, something manifested in the book, film and print. And, executionally, there is something uniquely engaging about a 700lb Tiger in a small bedroom in suburbia.”
The campaign film, Tiger in Suburbia, was directed by Martin Stirling and uses CGI from MPC, the producers of Disney’s Jungle Book. It previewed on E4 on the weekend of November 19 during Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
The book was designed as a gift for children. It can be fully personalised with the child’s name, gender, skin and hair colour. The parent role can also be personalised. It was written by Jeanne Willis, author of Chicken Clicking and the Penguin Pandemonium series and illustrated by Jenni Desmond, award winning creator of The Blue Whale. The pair have worked on a number of books together previously, including The First Slodge.
Kerry Blackstock, director of public fundraising at WWF-UK, commented, “During the last century over 95% of the world’s wild tiger population has been lost, with as few as 3,200 estimated in 2010 – an all-time low. Now their numbers have begun to increase, and we need to take this chance to secure their future. Protecting wild tigers and tackling the illegal wildlife trade is a topic close to the hearts of many people here in the UK. This advert acts as a stark reminder that although we may feel a million miles away from this issue, we can help. We can make a difference. This Christmas campaign is a first for WWF-UK, using the power and magic of CGI to illustrate the plight of this endangered species.”
Earlier this year, conservationists worldwide celebrated a small victory as global wild tiger numbers were reported to have increased for the first time in conservation history. But there is still so much work to be done. There are only about 3,900 tigers left in the wild. NGOs,
Credits
Creative agency: J. Walter Thompson London
Executive creative director: Russell Ramsey
Creative director: Jaspar Shelbourne
Creatives: James Humphreys & Craig Hunt
TV producers: Denise Connell & Edmund Thorn
Planner: Chris Bailey
Global director in charge: Emma Howath
Account director: Anna Hall
Senior account manager: Sophie Christiansen
Project manager: Steve Hedge
Production Company: Partizan
Director: Martin Stirling
Editor: Steve Ackroyd
Sound: Chris Turner
Post-production & VFX: MPC
VFX producer: Thomas Cole
VFX supervisor 2D: Andrew Roberts
VFX supervisor 3D: Matteo La Motta
Grade: MPC
Colourist: Jean-Clément Soret
Media agency: ARM
Media planners: Oliver Bertwistle & Tom Parker
