This week’s #ThrowBrandThursday tries to be a little quieter than usual because Mother Nature and all of its pals are trying to speak to us. They are sending humans a message that concerns us all. Are you curious what that is? Then we invite you, in deep silence, to step into a natural amphitheater and listen to what the environment has to say. We are not sure whether nature has just something to tell you or rather reproach you with something. Just listen and draw your own conclusions…
Through a public awareness campaign, called Nature is Speaking, crafted by the Audience Behavior Lab (ABL), a division of TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Conservation International (CI) basically says that it’s us humans who need to be saved, not the other way around. Nature doesn’t need people. People need nature. Oh, how the tables have turned…
The celebrity-studded initiative takes shape in a form of a series of short videos, which are all narrated by some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Penélope Cruz, Harrison Ford, Edward Norton, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Ian Somerhalder, Kevin Spacey, and many others. Talk about a strong voice!
In the series, viewers are introduced to a scenario in which the whole plot is described from Mother Nature and its friends’ point of view. The Flower, the Sky, the Mountain, or the Ocean are just a few players that let the people know that if they continue to treat the Earth just like they are doing now, it may all turn against them. To put it more bluntly, humanity can get screwed really bad if we continue to disrespect the environment.
“I have fed species greater than you, and I have starved species greater than you… I am prepared to evolve. Are you?” asks Mother Nature, dubbed by Julia Roberts in the campaign’s centerpiece video. “I don’t really need people, but people need me,” adds Nature. “Every day, I am the breath you take in. Yet you are making me sick,” continues the Sky while being suffocated by all the pollution that spins around it.
“We thought the idea of giving nature a voice, nature having been around billions of years longer than humans, might make it clear to all of us that the planet will evolve with or without humans. It’s our choice,” explained Lee Clow, the Director of TBWA Media Arts Lab. And we can only agree…
To coax the audience to actively take part in the initiative, the organization kindly invited everyone to join the discussion by using the #NatureIsSpeaking hashtag. And the plan showed positive results right away: in only two weeks after the launch, the first six videos were viewed more than 500,000 times. Moreover, over 550,000 people engaged in the action by signing the campaign’s pledge, tweeting, commenting, sharing, liking and promoting the campaign’s short films.
So, will we join our forces to do what’s right for nature? Because, either with humans or without us, nature will continue to evolve. But will humanity be included in the future scenario? Check out the rest of the videos and try to answer these questions at least for yourself and Mother Nature if not for the NGO. Or share your thoughts in the comments!
Credits:
Client: Conservation International (CI)
Agency: TBWA\Media Arts Lab