Pereira & O’Dell Tells Story of the ‘World’s First Climate Change Refugees’ for Skype

By Erik Oster 

Pereira & O’Dell continues to produce intriguing work for Skype, with their latest, “Turning the tide” marking a shift in approach.

Last year, the agency focused on the emotion of the personal connections it helped foster, through its “Stay Together” campaign and its highlight, “The Born Friends Family Portrait.” With “Turning the tide,” Pereira & O’Dell focuses instead on how the service helps a pair of journalists tell the story of Kiribati, the island nation that is in danger of being wiped off the map by 2040, thanks to rising oceans caused by climate change. Indeed, the people of Kiribati are already becoming the “world’s first climate change refugees” as the rising ocean levels have contaminated their food and water.

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The “modern mobile news team” of Anna Therese Day and Gianluca Panella are telling the island’s story, and utilize Skype as an important. “…Skype is second nature to us,” Anna says, “Being able to instantly share information, images, files…it means you can get to the heart of the story quickly.”While this inserts Skype into the conversation, it doesn’t do a whole lot to differentiate the brand from its competitors. Still, Pereira & O’Dell crafted an affecting spot, allowing Skype to tell an important story that many viewers might be unfamiliar with (although the story has been covered by a few major news outlets, including CNN). The agency seems to have made a choice to value storytelling and allying Skype with an important cause over overt branding. How effective you view the spot as will largely depend on which of these factors you place the most value on.

Credits:

Client: Skype, Inc.
GM, CAS Audience Marketing: Angie Hill
Director, Audience Marketing: Jackie Lee-Joe
Creative Director: Matt Sedik
Senior Campaign Manager: Vanessa Boutwell
Campaign Manager: Benjamin Lazarus

Agency: Pereira & O’Dell
Chief Creative Officer: PJ Pereira
Executive Creative Director: Jamie Robinson
Creative Director: Jonathan Woytek
Associate Creative Director: Michael Gurman
Senior Art Director: Ben Sweitzer
Senior Copywriter: Gabriel Miller
Senior Copywriter: Simon Friedlander
Art Director: Myray Reames
Copywriter: Demian Kendall
VP, Director of Production: Jeff Ferro
Executive Producer: Bill Spangler
Senior Broadcast Producer: Joanna Topetzes
Senior Integrated Producer: Jason Mar
Co-Director of Client Services: Ivy Truong
Senior Account Executive: William de Ryk
Strategy Director: Molly Cabe
Strategy Director – Media and Distribution: Jasmine Summerset
Media Strategist: Noel Aragon
Media Strategist: Katie McKinley

Production Company: Station Film
Director: Peking
Executive Producer: Caroline Gibney
Producer: Sarah McMurray

Editorial and Post: Umlaut Films
Editor: Jonathan Flookes
Executive Producer: Gina Locurcio
Producer: Kelly Gibbs
Assistant Editor: Peter Geiger

Sound Mix: One Union Recording Studios
Sound Mixer: Eben Carr

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