WWF - Target practice - ambient, China

Located in the Bejing Fang Zhuang underground passage were these special WWF posters, that turned an innocent walkway into human target practice.
Over 9000 people walk through this passage every day, and the campaign was so succesful that the hallway was literally jammed with people as the gunshots echoed through the hall. AD agency: Ogilvy, Bejing.

The headline on each poster read "Have we hit a nerve?" as the animals hunted the humans for once.

The posters had red lasers beaming from their guns, and emitted the noise of a shot as one walked past. God knows it would freak anyone not wearing a walkman out. (OK OK, fine so I'm showing my age with that comment - I'll say iPod. Mp3player. Whatevrsss.)

The display caused so much alarm that after just one day, it was ordered to be removed. Nevertheless, the job was done. In the first day alone, 57 new volunteers signed up to support WWF wildlife conservation.

Paul Bo Copy Writer
Nils Andersson Copy Writer
Nils Andersson Group Executive Creative Director
Kweichee Lam Executive Creative Director
Jacky Lung Creative Director
Xingsheng Qi Art Director
Shengxiong Chen Art Director
Jacky Lung Art Director
Matthew Curry CopyWriter
Huimin Li Photographer

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Anonymous Adgrunt's picture
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smizzly_bob's picture

It's gone from advertising to just plain annoying! I always wanted to be fooled into thinking someone was shooting at me. This really turns me on to their cause.

Maybe if the WWF actually invested in thought they would earn more from me than sarcasm.

Allan1's picture

"Wouldn't be much hunting done, if the rabbit had a gun..." (Memphis Slim - 1964).

[Maybe this was what Hillary was thinking about when she said she was dodging sniper fire:-) ]

Dabitch's picture

This won a bronze Media Lion in Cannes 2008.

TDD's picture

Now, where would a WWF anti-hunting propaganda campaign be without an image of the cute little white seal pup (harp seal pup) that hasn't been legally hunted since 1987?

And where are all the tasty animals? Polar bear (hunting restrictions since 1973, and numbers still increasing) sounds like some good eating, but not the liver, of course, which is contains high levels of vitamin A - enough to kill a human.

I understand rabbit is pretty good. So is squirrel, but you have to remove the sent glands first. Black bear, brown bear, deer, moose.... I have to find a local market that sells game meat I can try. I'm getting hungry for something besides (delicious Canadian) beef.

RLDavies's picture

Rabbit is tasty, especially stewed, but wild rabbit can be VERY gamey. I prefer domestic. Venison is like very lean beef -- good as steaks, stew, even burgers -- and very healthy eating. I've had bear meat once, and it's also like lean beef but slightly sweeter. Pigeon is delicious if you're careful not to let it go dry in the cooking.

I can recommend ostrich, too, which tastes like a cross between beef and turkey. Not exactly game, but something unusual to put on your plate.

Colin has had jackal stew in his various wanderings, and says it's the best and sweetest meat he's ever eaten. Not that this is likely to be of much practical value to anyone here.

I was proofreading a crossword puzzle recently, and came across the clue "Small white object hit with a club (4, 4)". What they wanted was "golf ball", but I immediately thought "baby seal". Naughty! (The editor thought it was funny.)

purplesimon's picture

Weird, I thought Kate Moss. But Baby Seal works for me too.

purplesimon's picture

The thing about rabbit is that it's pure protein, so if you eat only rabbit you'll die. Therefore, if you are going to eat rabbit make sure you have some other foods in there as well.

That's my foodie tip for the day. :)

Dabitch's picture

I've not eaten any animals depicted on those posters, so I'm guessing it's for their fur. (I've eaten horse, pig, wild boar, goat, lamb, elk, reindeer (every christmas - hehe), deer, alligator, chicken, ostrich, rabbit, ripa, quail, pheasant, duck, rattlesnake, cow... uh I can't think of any more now. Kangoroo! And every type of fish you can think of except deep sea fish which I avoid.)

Allan1's picture

I can't claim to have eaten ALL of the critters you have, but I've eaten a great deal of them. I have NOT eaten horse, wild boar, elk, reindeer, rabbit, pheasant, or rattlesnake (comparing lists to yours).
I believe that I have eaten some form of grouse, so I have your ripa covered.
It is possible that I once had a taste of rattlesnake, but I'm a bit hazy on whether I actually ate it, or missed getting some, by arriving late.

I found the Cajun style blackened alligator tail a bit like a chewy mushroom - whether that's the normal state of the food, or due to the manner of cooking, I don't know.

I had Ostrich Wellington - mmmmm. Tasty, lean - you only seemed to fill up on the puff pastry shells.

RLDavies's picture

I can't remember if I've eaten kangaroo, but I do have a kangaroo-fur "teddy" koala. (Koala fur is nasty, kangaroo is lovely and soft.) Never eat wild kangaroo, you'll get hepatitis.

There's a chipmunk and a raccoon on those posters. Raccoons are vermin in most places in America, especially around towns, and need to be kept down for the same reasons as rats. I don't think chipmunks are particularly endangered, either.

That's the big problem with organisations like WWF -- they lose track of what they're supposed to be for. Campaigning for endangered wildlife and habitat, yes. Telling people not to shoot raccoons and rabbits, no. The RSPCA here in Britain was close to getting a formal warning by the Charities Commission for straying too far from its remit. (Oxfam did get itself a warning for turning itself into a political lobby organisation instead of an aid and relief charity.)

purplesimon's picture

The poster campaign asks: have we hit a nerve?

Well, yes, you have as it goes: the one that makes me want to reach out and strangle lame campaigns like this one. And those that create them.

And, without wanting to offend people here, I was always under the impression that the Chinese were happy to eat almost anything, but even I was stunned to learn they want to eat polar bears.

WWF hang your creative heads in shame.

Dabitch's picture

If Adland's adgrunts were on the various juries out there, nobody would win anything. ;)

purplesimon's picture

Maybe, but come on, this isn't really a good execution (no pun intended, even though I'm a copywriter).

Dabitch's picture

That might be a bad thing. We should do our own awards. Super hard to get! D&AD black pencils eat yer heart out.

purplesimon's picture

I support that.

To win an Adland Gong would be the pinnacle of my career. [sigh]

Allan1's picture

It shouldn't be an Adland Gong.
It should be an Adland mini-TV, like up in the left top corner of the screen (you know, the one that shows "the Commercial Archive" on the screen, and "ADLAND" on the label/plaque below the screen). [It should use the same color scheme, too].

Whether it works as a TV, or like a video iPod, or like a cell phone, or do nothing at all should depend on the specific award level, and of course, Dabitch's budget!

Win an Adland TV, aka an Adland Monitor!

On the other hand, maybe it should just be an Ad-Rag RAG! [or should that be an Adland Ad-Rag? :-)

purplesimon's picture

You're right, Gong is only to be used when it comes to Rank International or hippy bands from the 1970s.

I like the TV idea best, and we could usurp Bravia's tagline: commercials. like. no. other.

alex's picture

Gong never died, man. In fact, they just stole the show as part of Massive Attack's Meltdown 2008.

purplesimon's picture

Funnily enough, I saw that gig. T'was awesome, as they [over]say in the US. I was once a bigger fan of Steve Hillage and so it was with huge helpings of nostalgia that I went - okay, and the fact I was given a free ticket.

I also love Robyn Hitchcock, another eccentric musician from a similar era who's never really made the mainstream - all the better for it IMO. I think that Mr Hillage had something to do with Mr Hitchcock, but can't be arsed to check the Wiki :) I know he produced the Charlatans UK's first album. Or something like that anyway.

RLDavies's picture

How about an Adland TV for the best, and an Ad Rag for the worst?

Dabitch's picture

Or a golden toilet roll for the worst.