Big 5 not Big 4

Background

Rhinos are under extreme threat from poaching. In fact, without help, they could be extinct by 2026. Research carried out by 23red suggested that the most compelling message was that 'the big five' (elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and rhino) will soon be 'the big 4'.

The campaign targeted people who had recently returned from a safari in Africa. They were individuals with a high net-worth, who loved wildlife and wanted to do the best thing for the planet.

Idea

To demonstrate how easily the rhino might disappear, a lenticular image was used. It was very much the sort of photo the recipients might have taken themselves on their recent holiday. Seen one way, the headline read 'BIG 5', seen another it read 'BIG 5 Not BIG 4'.

The postcard was mailed with a personalised letter from the tour operator giving an emotional, first-hand perspective to the problem.

Results

Pending

Our Thoughts

A lot of the ideas you’ll find in Directory are clever, ingenious, sophisticated. This is none of those. But my goodness! It gets its message across with all the subtlety of a machete hacking off a rhino’s horn.

I was born and raised in Kenya so am using my editor’s prerogative here to choose a campaign as much for the cause it espouses as for the creative treatment.

For me, the smart thinking is the targeting. Talking to people who have only just returned from safari would make the appeal particularly poignant.

Good to see Hamish Pringle, the former Director General of the IPA in the UK, still involved in the business he has loved for the last 35 years or more.