The war against the poaching of endangered species in Africa seems to never end. Thousands of wild animals are slaughtered so that some of their body parts can be illegally sold for huge amounts of money. If it were to think of a collective noun for these animals it would surely be a murder of crows. Not a nice tag for a zeal of zebras, a kaleidoscope of giraffes, a parade of elephants, or a flamboyance of flamingoes, is it?

What about their killers? What would their collective noun sound like? A gang. Even better, a plague. An epidemy that continues to attack the vulnerable species. But luckily, there’s something up there, in the sky, that can help these cute creatures overcome this constant threat. No, we’re not talking about God or some angels. Nor lucky stars. What we have in mind is something you would (probably) never think of. Thanks to charity OverAndAboveAfrica‘s ideas, we’ve discovered what this is all about.

A watch. Or a sentinel. Or more nicely put, a guardian. Actually, it’s about a bunch of protectors that oversee the animals and also assure their masters that everything is working as planned. You’re probably wondering who these defenders might be? We bet that drones weren’t what you had in mind after reading those lines. Yet, it’s them. Using drones, the organization’s latest campaign presents an unusual effort to rescue these animals. And all, from the above.

Throughout its “A Guardian” film, the NGO uses collective nouns to highlight the beauty of animal groups across Africa. At the same time, by using drones, the charity wants to emphasize the animal’s vulnerability to poaching gangs.

The short film was made by an international team of creatives led by former Wieden+Kennedy, 180 Amsterdam, and DDB veteran, Andy Fackrell. The 90-second drone-shot video is directed by another ex-180 Amsterdam creative, Sam Coleman at Giant Films in Cape Town.

The pro bono campaign unfolds from dusk till dawn and shows a series of aerial pictures of animal groups. Each group is accompanied by its respective collective noun — a pride of lions, a wobble of ostrich, an implausibility of gnu, etc. But their peace is suddenly disturbed by ‘a gang’ of poachers, who are caught on camera by the drones left to roam free in the wild.

Drone surveillance turns out to be a great protector and huge savior for Africa’s endangered species: the gadgets increase the animals’ survival chances by up to 80%, according to a pioneering group of conservationists, entrepreneurs, and researchers called Air Shepherd.

“It’s a slaughter,” says OverAndAboveAfrica founder Kerry David. “Every day is a tech-war between heavily armed, well organized, skilled poachers and our courageous, but often ill-equipped rangers. Dropping our guard can mean the loss of whole herds.”

Andy Fackrell later adds: “This is such an issue – economic, as well as emotional – Sam had no problem convincing Cape Town’s industry to get behind it, as my old colleague Shannon Worley did with RPS in LA.”

The film ends with a kind message, asking the audience to donate at least $5 a month to help save the species in danger. Also, the viewers are directed towards the charity’s website, overandaboveafrica.com, where they can find out more about how one can tackle the poaching crisis and the human/animal conflict.

Credits:

Client: Over&AboveAfrica

Title: “A Guardian.”
OAAA Founder: Kerry David
OAAA Executive Director: Jennifer Pfister
Creative: Andy Fackrell
Producer, Nice Kitty Films: Shannon Worley
Art Director: Mariya Munsey
PR Director: Jessica Hartley

Giant Films, Cape Town
Director: Sam Coleman
Executive Producer: Cindy Gabriel
DOP: Devin Tosselli
Producer: Boris Vossgatter
Production Manager: Nella Coetzer
Editor: Matthew Swanepoel
Wardrobe: Izolina de Vasconcelos
Drone Pilot: Carl Nicholl
RC Plane Pilot: Wayne van Rooyen
Production Assistant: Bobby Kamnga
Drone Camera Operator: Simeon Hamma
Grade: Nic Apostoli
Online VHX: Charmaine Greyling
Location: Richard Brooker/Glen Afric

Rock, Paper. Scissors, Los Angeles.
Editor: Adam Pertofsky
Assistant Editor: Marjorie Sacks
Post Production: A52, Los Angeles
Music licensing: Aaron Mercer, Wool & Tusk
Music: “Under The Trees’ Voices” Ezio Bosso, Sony Music Italy.