So, we wanted to make an advert that would get people’s attention. To make people think. About the choices they make every day. About their world. About WWF.
We needed a big idea that would remind people of the serious nature of the problems we face on the planet. But without it becoming overwhelming and disempowering. We need to show there is hope – as although we’re all part of the problem - we’re also all part of the solution. We didn’t want to follow a charity ad sob-story formula. We wanted to create a powerful emotional hook without pointing the finger of blame at people like you and me.
I hope you think we’ve struck the right balance…
For those of you interested in the creative process, here’s a little bit behind the scenes of how we got to the final ad.
Infinity room
The central hero shot of the film we call the ‘Infinity room’. It was filmed in a studio in southwest London. A huge hangar of a room was strung up with hundreds of pieces of salvaged plastics, leftover food, household goods from the local props house and various paraphernalia. Each item represented one of the choices we make every day as we go about our lives. The plastic bag you didn’t need to buy, the throw away coffee cup, the burger you eat on a Friday night. And the positive choices we can make too like the bicycle, vegetables, reusable bags and bottles.
This picture shows my colleague Emma walking through the room.
You can still make out the strings and tape holding it all together. And of course, you can still see the floor. To create the effect, hours of work was spent in the studio finessing the image so that it really feels like you’re floating through space. Through all the choices you can make.
Grading effects
The ad features many amazing pieces of wildlife and natural world footage. A filter or ‘grade’ has been applied to them all to feel more like archive or handheld imagery. We used this rawness to help capture the fragility of our world and bring the film together to illustrate the interconnectedness of wildlife, people and nature. You can see a couple of examples of the footage before and after the grading process here.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Macro footage
Interspersed amongst the found film, we’ve woven in some original macro footage filmed for us in a studio in LA. We created the macro footage (which means it was filmed at really close range to make it appear larger than life-size) to be beautifully intriguing and complement the natural world footage.
Some of the shots help to create a mood, while some allude to environmental threats or landscapes. We hope it makes you think: what was that? was that real? is that a burning forest? icecaps melting? And if you’re wondering what these are actual shots of…here are a few.
This burning hay hints at a forest being cleared by fire.
This dissolving tablet alludes to the melting glaciers.
These bits of plastic in a water cyclone illustrate plastic waste in our seas.
VOICE OVER
A final piece of the puzzle was trying to find a voice that could tell the story. We loved the idea of using a voice that sounded as if it had come from the archives. We wanted the viewer to understand that we’ve known that the planet is in crisis for many years, but that we’re really hearing it now for the first time. The powerful voice of Jonathan Pryce (of Game of Thrones fame) narrates this strong message. But we also wanted to bring in multiple generations and found the vocal talent of musician Ghostpoet a perfect contrast to start and end the ad with an intimate and more personal plea.
FIGHT FOR YOUR WORLD
We hope you like what we’ve created and if it’s made you think just a little bit about the choices you make every day I’d be over the moon. Whether that’s eating a little bit less meat, cycling or walking when you can instead of taking the car, remembering your reusable cup and shopping bag. Or joining likeminded people and becoming a member of WWF.