Follow a Strawberry From Birth to Grave in This Oddly Emotional Ad About Food Waste

Strawberries make a powerful statement in "Save the Food," a public service campaign breaking today from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Developed pro-bono by SapientNitro through The Ad Council, the initiative focuses on a sad reality: Some 40 percent of all food purchased in the U.S. each year goes uneaten, wasting money, water and energy to the tune of $162 billion. And consumers are mostly to blame. We throw food away too soon and too often. In fact, each of us trashes nearly 300 pounds of food every year. Wow, we suck. To illustrate the problem, a remarkable two-minute online film (with TV commercial edits) from Partizan director Martin Stirling follows a single strawberry from its salad days on the vine through its packaging odyssey and purchase by a typical American family. Forgotten at the back of the fridge, our hero (and his increasingly funky bunch) fall into a sorry state, and we get the feeling things won't end well. It's a juicy performance, though the strawberry has the advantage of playing itself. Moms are a primary target here, because "no one makes more of the decisions around food—planning, shopping, cooking and disposing," Gary Koepke, North American chief creative officer at SapientNitro, tells AdFreak. "We know that moms are compelled by facts that tie food waste to household finances, so the campaign emphasizes this information." Millennials are also a key audience, says Koepke, because they are "engaged and idealistic about helping the environment" and show an interest in "life hacks that help them experience more and waste less." If the strawberry's jaunty theme music sounds familiar, that's because it served as the soundtrack to the 2009 animated film Up, winning an Oscar for composer Michael Giacchino. (Disney donated the tune to the campaign.) Print, web and out-of-home ads are also in the mix, urging consumers to "Cook it. Store it. Share it" rather than prematurely trash milk, eggs, bread and chicken: That "Best If Used" line really says more with less, and the crisp, uncluttered art direction is a highlight. A clean visual aesthetic also graces SaveTheFood.com, which provides detailed information and tips for cutting down on waste. Relying exclusively on donated media, the push includes outreach on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, plus support from Getty Images, Buzzfeed, Social Native, Upworthy and influencers like celebrity chef Tom Colicchio. Unlike hunger, pollution, poverty and other global concerns that seem insurmountable, food waste is imminently addressable, and the actions we can take are largely painless. "With small steps, we can save large amounts of food, and along with it, money and precious natural resources," says NRDC president Rhea Suh. What's more, ending food waste can save consumers money, an outcome wisely played up by the campaign, which maintains that throwing away less food can save an average family of four about $1,500 a year. Appealing to consumers' pocketbooks is always a smart tactic. After all, saving money has no sell-by date. More creative appears below. CREDITS The Advertising Council – NRDC – Save The Food SapientNitro: Alyssa Altman - Vice President Business Consulting Ronald Shamah – Senior Vice President Shade Vaughn – Vice President Marketing Chris Hall – Vice President General Management Peter Shanley – Vice President General Management Donald Chestnut – Global CCO Gary Koepke – Chief Creative Officer Matthew Atkatz – Executive Creative Director, Creative Lead Jenessa Carder – Strategy Lead David Serrano – Client Services Director Mary Zumba – Account Supervisor Jacqueline Murphy – Manager Program Management Monica Alameda – Senior Associate Producer Bill Pauls – Executive Creative Director David Iglesias – Senior Designer Faye Ibars – Copywriter Andrew Goldstein – Creative Director Jason Levine – Creative Director James Allen – Creative Director Stephen Frederick Levy – Designer Eduardo Santiesteban – Retouching Manager Jose Acosta – Head of Production Amy Houston – Print Producer John McHale – Executive Creative Director, Experience Lead Katie Plua – UX Design Alicia Marshall – Designer Jessica Gray – Designer Andrew Hodge – Designer Sara Commet – Copywriter Bryan Scott – Art Director Chris Burke – Senior Manager Interactive Development Graydon Pleasants – Interactive Developer Ravi Evani – Director of Technology Sarah Jones – Senior Content Strategist Sophia Calderone – Junior Interactive Developer Kevin Rossum – Associate Marketing Strategy + Analysis San San Ng – Designer Louis Palacios – Editor Alejandro Roses – Motion Graphics Luis Giron – Sound Mixing Ariel Bellumio – Post Supervisor Stephie Wassmann – Producer Alejandro Villanueva – Developer Emilio Acebo – Developer Yvette Gomez – Business Affairs Manager Sean Black – North America Media Services Lead Dan Parness – Media Supervisor John Dasher – Sr. Media Planner Zack Celzic – Sr. Media Planner John Herman – Director Marketing Strategy & Analytics Nicole Olivier – Media Planner Melissa Bazilion – Media Supervisor Brittany Schermerhorn – Associate Media Director John Casey – Director, Media Relations Partizan: Martin Stirling – Director Lisa Tauscher – Executive Producer Georges Bermann – Executive Producer Molly Griffin – Head of Production Megan Moore – Producer Carlos Veron – Director of Photography Nico Cotta – CD Chris Allen & Beatrice Bowdon – Producers James Cornwell – Lead Flame Christopher Maslen – Flame Assist Sezen Akpolat – 3D Producer Tony Landais – Lead CG Emre Samioglu, Utku Ertin, Doruk Saglam, Zafer Ercevik, Caglar Ozen, Altug Yılmazer, Enis Uzbek, Bogi Gulacsi - CG team Final Cut: Steve Ackroyd - Editor

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Follow a Strawberry From Birth to Grave in This Oddly Emotional Ad About Food Waste

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