TBWA Media Arts Lab has launched a star-studded campaign for Conservation International, entitled “Nature is Speaking,” which employs celebrities as elements of nature delivering the message that environmental reform is an immediate concern.
Star voices include Julia Roberts as Mother Nature, Harrison Ford as The Ocean, Kevin Spacey as The Rainforest, Edward Norton as The Soil, Penelope Cruz as Water and Robert Redford as The Redwood. The campaign debuted at SXSW Eco and rolled out yesterday on YouTube, with the Mother Nature film highlighted on www.conservation.org. That nearly two-minute video functions as the campaign’s center point and introduction. Roberts, as Mother Nature, casts aside the notion that nature is something separate from people to be used. “I don’t really need people, but people need me,” Roberts intones over footage of natural marvels (bonus points for time-lapse footage of oyster mushrooms growing). She goes on to point out how the fate of humans is linked to nature. “When I thrive, you thrive,” she says. “When I falter, you falter — or worse.” She concludes, “One way or another, your actions will determine your fate. Not mine…I am prepared to evolve, are you?” It’s a powerful message, hammering home the immediacy of the issue with emotion.
It also functions as something of a rebranding for the environmental movement. As Dr. M. Sanjayan, Conservation International’s executive vice president and senior scientist points out in a press release, “The environmental movement has missed the mark when talking about nature because it tends to present nature as something that is separate from people. By making it clear that people need nature to survive, we are turning the conversation around and making the movement relevant to entirely new audiences.”
As the campaign continues, Conservation Internation will highlight a different film each week on www.conservation.org, with an accompanying post on its Human Nature blog. Next week will focus on The Ocean (voiced by Vice Chairman of Conservation International Harrison Ford), followed by The Rainforest (voiced by Spacey) and The Soil (Norton). We’ve included Ford and Spacey’s contributions after the jump. The campaign also includes a social extension, with HP promising to donate one dollar to Conservation International, up to one million, for every use of the #NatureIsSpeaking hashtag.
Credits:
Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab
Client: Conservation International
Chairman, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Director of Media Arts, TBWA\Worldwide – Lee Clow
ECD – Eric Grunbaum
GCD – Scott Trattner
CSO, ABL – Elena Hale
Director of Content, ABL – Jennifer Golub
Account Director, ABL – James Breitinger
Sr. Copywriter – Tim Geoghegan
Copywriter – Harrison Ford
Associate Creative Director – Holly Hessler
Associate Creative Director – Helena Skonieczny
Copywriter – Tor Lemhag
Copywriter – Lonnie Elliott
Art Director – Laura Niubo
Art Director – Hillary Coe
Art Director – Ren Toner
Jr Designer – Sangli Li
Jr Designer – Maia Swift
Designers – MAL Design
Producer – Betsy Schoenfeld
Producer – Mai Huynh
Producer – Jacquelyn Frisco-Habsburg
Group Planning Director, ABL – Aileen Russell
Planning Director, ABL – Emily Bronkesh-Buchbinder
Social Beta Planner, ABL – Garrett Black
Account Supervisor – Katie Nance
Account Supervisor – Elle Eley
Account Executive, ABL – Jenna Ritter
Business Affairs – Kathy Brooks
Media – OMD
Production Company – Radical Media
Chairman, CEO – Jon Kamen
Executive Producer -Donna Portaro
Editorial Company – Outpost Digital
Producer – Gina Grosso
Editors – Jesse Overman, Dan Bootzin
Assistant Editors – Rob Taylor, Gabriel Cullen
Color Correct – Nicholas Caramonta
Online – Gabriel Cullen
Music/Sound Design – Beacon Street Studios
Executive Producer – Leslie DiLullo
Composers – Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau
Mix Producer – Kate Vadnais
Mixer – Mike Franklin
Mix Asst – Dewey Thomas