Advertising

Metaphor for Global Warming

By Delphine Hirasuna | November 17, 2014June 22, 2015

WWF_Ice_Cream
This public service ad by the World Wildlife Fund in Belgium needs no translation. Created by VVL BBDO in Brussels, “The Melting Earth” ad is a metaphor that works across all cultures and even communicates in a way that children can understand. The text in the boxed space warns: “The first signs of global warming are now clearly visible. We urgently need to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Nothing and no one will be spared from climate change….” As much as the image communicates the point instantly, what’s needed are follow-up ads/posters/booklets that spell out pragmatic steps that each individual can take. It’s not just a a problem for the world or a nation to solve. It demands action on all of our parts. But the public needs more guidance on what we as individuals can do to lick this problem before we suffer an irreversible meltdown.

Motion Graphics

WWF Moving Still Photos

By Delphine Hirasuna | January 3, 2013August 19, 2014

With the right technology (and talent), there’s no such thing as still photos anymore. The technique in this video is called “parallax effect,” which makes it appear that objects closer to the viewer move faster than those that are farther away. Joe Fellows from Make Productions in London made this film using still images from the World Wildlife Fund archives. As quoted in SLRLounge.com, Fellows explains, “We used Photoshop to cut out individual parts and then animated them in After Effects…There was no 3D mapping, all in 2D. There are many layers per shot, the ears, the teeth, the whiskers, the head, the body, the background are all separate layers. Then the layers are parented to one another and moved either by position or by using something called the puppet tool.” Set to the music of “What If This Storm Ends” by Snow Patrol, the result is a “high-speed” slow-motion parallax sequence film that presents a poetic, dreamlike study of nature in motion.

Posters

Where’s the Panda?

By Delphine Hirasuna | February 25, 2011September 4, 2014

WWF Panda Forest Ad

The World Wildlife Fund, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011, has produced some terrific ads over the years. This is a series that we hadn’t seen, although it was produced by BBH Shanghai in 2008. The ads address the misconception in China that the World Wildlife Fund only protects Giant Pandas that are native to the mountain forests of central China. To raise awareness of WWF’s other conservation activities in the country, this black-and-white print and outdoor ad campaign integrated WWF’s panda logo (and China’s national symbol) into images of antelopes, forests and water.

Posters

Good Climate Change Posters

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 7, 2009September 4, 2014

Italy

The start of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this week seems like a good time to look at some of the posters produced on the subject. These are from Good 50×70 (aka Good Amsterdam), a nonprofit initiative aimed at promoting the value of social communication in the creative community, inspiring the public via graphic design, and giving select charities a database of communication tools they can use in their campaigns. Good 50×70 hosts an annual online contest inviting designers to create posters on seven critical global issues, as described in briefs by seven charities. The best 30 responses in each category as chosen by a distinguished jury are cataloged and exhibited worldwide. Here is a sampling of Climate Change posters produced from the brief provided by the World Wildlife Fund.