Title | SEASTARS |
Brand | WWF THE NETHERLANDS |
Product/Service | DONATIONS FOR OCEANS |
Category |
A06. USE OR INTEGRATION OF MUSIC |
Entrant Company
|
OGILVY & MATHER AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Contributing Company
|
OGILVY & MATHER AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Media Agency
|
MEC Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Production Company
|
NOT TO SCALE AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Production Company 2
|
MEDIA MONKS BV PA Hilversum, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Credits
Darre Van Dijk |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Chief Creative Officer |
Rob Voortman |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Copywriter |
Bas Derks |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Digital Art Director |
Heleen Hidskes |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Strategy Consultant |
Esther De Kok |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Account Manager |
Jolly Banerjee |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Digital Producer |
Yorick Wolf |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Digital Delivery Director |
Pierre/Bertrand |
Not To Scale/Amsterdam |
Directors |
Wyke Van Weelden |
Wyke Van Weelden |
Singer/Songwriter |
Hendrik Jan De Harder |
Media Monks |
Digital Production |
Sam Fairbairn |
Media Monks |
Digital Production |
Sylvia Van Der Leen |
Media Monks |
Digital Production |
Guido Van Dieteren |
Guido's Orchestra |
Conductor |
Patrick Stemelen |
Pat |
Sound Design |
Darre Van Dijk |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Music |
Juriaan Van Berkel |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Video Producer |
Colin Tossijn |
Ogilvy And Mather Amsterdam |
Designer |
The Campaign
The usage of branded entertainment in the Netherlands is still relatively minimal in comparison with other countries like the United States and England. Although a respectable range in traditional customer magazines is currently available, much branded content for digital - and traditional media hasn’t been produced.
This is however rapidly changing. We see a growth in the usage of branded content, as we see how the consumer is more commercially affected by fun and inspiring content, than by an in-your-face advert. Hence we chose to convey a complex and non-engaging problem, through an emotionally engaging way; an animated film, accompanied by specially composed music.
Results
WWF asked us to find a compelling way to launch their 2014 Ocean’s campaign. A campaign that addressed many of the immense problems oceans are currently facing. As this was an opportunity to tell a story that the people should hear, it was also challenging to try and convey this complex matter.
In order to convey this story, we chose to show the war that goes on below sea level through an animated film. The movie highlights the complex matter in an emotionally engaging way without having people turn their heads in repulsion. We see our heroes, the sea stars, battle all evil that is destroying their under water world. After the good guys reign victorious, they start the rebuilding of their reef. At the end of the film the viewer is asked to make a donation and become a star for the sea too, and help rebuild reefs around the world.
The song ‘World of Blue’ was created for the animation. It was sung by upcoming Dutch artist Wyke van Weelden and gave the narrative more intensity and emotion. To generate more donations through downloads, we released an extended version as the movie’s soundtrack. After the release it climbed the Dutch charts, reaching #4 on iTunes. People could watch the music video on Youtube and listen to it via iTunes and Spotify. The music video on YouTube, that incorporated the film, contributed to the campaign by directing viewers directly to our campaign website.
By using the intriguing animation, combining it with a pop song, interactive platform and a music video, our campaign became part of the country’s popular culture and generated a lot of awareness and donations to rebuild our reefs around the world.
The song ‘World of Blue’ was created for the animation. It was sung by upcoming Dutch artist Wyke van Weelden and gave the narrative more intensity and emotion. To generate even more donations through downloads, we released an extended version as the movie’s soundtrack. After the release it climbed the Dutch charts, reaching #4 on iTunes. People started searching for the song and could watch the music video on Youtube and listen to it via iTunes and Spotify. The music video on YouTube, that incorporated the film, contributed to the campaign by directing viewers directly to our campaign website.
The film and soundtrack became part of the country’s popular culture, through people positively sharing and commenting on it. The campaign generated 1.4 million PR impressions. The animation became WWF’s most viewed ad in history, which lead to WWF coming in third as the brand with best use of social. The movie’s soundtrack reached #4 position on iTunes download top 100, hit the pop charts, and was performed live numerous times on national radio. Radio stations were legally obligated to play the song at least once a day because of its pop chart ranking. Which meant a lot of free 3:20 radio adverts. The DJ’s would often discuss the campaign, which created even more free publicity for our cause. All this attention created a lot of awareness for the problems our oceans are currently facing. But people also acted to help solve the problems. The campaign has topped its financial goals with 26%. So thanks to all the stars for the sea, we’ve been able to start the rebuilding of our first reef in Belize.