‘See the animal behind the commodity’ is the inspiration behind a new print campaign conceptualised by Artifact Advertising for their client, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), whose current focus is on the growing illegal trade in wildlife.
EWT Communication and Brand Manager Belinda Glenn says the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products is thought to be the fourth largest illegal trade activity in the world with a potential value of up to US$23 billion annually.
“Every day approximately 56 elephants are killed across Africa, primarily for their ivory which is used to make jewellery and ornaments, while a pangolin is taken from the wild every five minutes for its scales, which are widely believed to cure numerous ills from asthma to cancer.”
It was this knowledge that formed the backbone of the campaign for Artifact Creative Director Bruce Anderson, who says the ads are a call to action for consumers, both to recognise the animal that is needlessly killed and to make donations to EWT to help put a stop to the illegal wildlife trade.
“The team wanted an emotive response to the images; to see the animals damaged by their exploitation, but to not offend either. We believe the images speak for themselves and get the message across succinctly and effectively.”
“We chose the elephant and pangolin to represent the wildlife trade locally as they are two of our animals under the greatest threat.”
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