Some standout campaigns from 2022

2022 has been another year where the climate emergency – and all of its contributory factors – has received huge amounts of media coverage. And rightly so. We’ve only got one planet, right?

We wanted to share a couple of standout campaigns we thought were fantastic, as organisations seek new and innovative ways to convey their vital messages.

And, as we all face the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, we highlight one other campaign which really struck a chord.

The fight against plastic

In the Netherlands, Ogilvy teamed up with Greenpeace for their ‘Plastic is Back’ campaign.

Its purpose was to highlight the fact that plastics – themselves a derivative of the oil industry – can take hundreds of years to decompose.

They created a quirky, vintage online ‘shop’, highlighting product packaging from yesteryear which is still being washed up on our beaches today.

The call to action was to donate to their campaign to help tackle plastic pollution. Check it out via this link (translate option may be needed)

Endangered species

This summer, London Zoo made waves with a campaign to highlight the consequences of humans’ actions on endangered species.

Instead of featuring the depicted Siamese crocodile, its enclosure contained a large brown handbag made from its skin.

The placard reads “This bag used to be found swimming in slow-moving rivers and streams across Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Over the last 75 years, more than 80% of Siamese crocodiles have disappeared. Many, like this one, were hunted for their skins as part of the illegal wildlife trade.”

Bold, hard-hitting, sure to get people talking… and hopefully donating to conservation efforts.

Along a similar vein, Kew Gardens created their own displays with species of plants which are now extinct; an empty pot of earth displayed where the plant would once have grown.

A helping hand

For something a little different, but completely in tune with our own social purpose objectives at A Better Planet, we loved this collaboration between Heinz UK and Morrisons this autumn.

With the cost-of-living crisis spiralling and many of the most vulnerable in society struggling to put food on the table, people were invited to simply ‘ask for Henry’ at their nearest Morrisons café to be given a hot meal of beans and a jacket potato. No questions asked, with over 160,000 meals made available.

The great thinking behind this campaign was that those in need could get a free meal, but avoid the stigma which often arises when asking for help.

Here’s how it was promoted on Twitter:

If you need a helping hand this half term, from 26th October you can simply ‘ask for Henry’ at your nearest @Morrisons café, and you will be given a free Heinz Beanz meal.

1 meal per person per day, old or young, no questions asked, until stocks last. pic.twitter.com/AJActUeDKZ

— Heinz (@HeinzUK) October 25, 2022

In the interests of balance, we sincerely hope that the wider Kraft-Heinz group goes on to make its own new year’s resolution to finally and properly address its use of unsustainable palm oil.

Whilst social initiatives like the above are welcomed, last year, the WWF called out this company in particular for failing to tackle the destruction of forests and other habitats caused by unsustainable palm oil production.

The point being; if a company wants to be seen to be doing good, it must expect scrutiny of its own actions elsewhere.

2023?

As we say goodbye to 2022, we’re looking forward to the New Year with some new and exciting projects of our own in the pipeline.  If you’d like us to help you and your cause, why not drop us a line?  Click here to get in touch.

All that’s left to do is to wish you all a happy and restful Christmas and New Year and we’ll see you on the other side.