National Geographic
Background
National Geographic has been igniting the explorer in all of us for 132 years through ground-breaking storytelling from the best and brightest scientists, explorers, photographers, and filmmakers in the world. As the sea ice between Canada and Greenland melts, the outside world sees unprecedented opportunity. Oil and gas deposits, faster shipping routes, tourism and fishing all provide financial incentives to exploit the newly opened waters.
But for the animals and the 100,000+ Inuit who live in the Arctic, on and around the frozen ocean, an entire way of life is at stake. Development here threatens to upset the balance between their communities, land and wildlife, leaving the future of this region and their culture increasingly uncertain.
Directed by Scott Ressler and executive produced by Dr. Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas, THE LAST ICE, tells the story of Inuit communities fighting to protect the rapidly disappearing Arctic that has been their home for centuries.
Problem
Conservational organizations like Nat Geo have always used emotional appeal to show that the animals are struggling due to climate change, but when this goes overboard, the target audience ignores the ad so they don’t have to confront their guilt. So the campaign for the Last Ice needed to uniquely express what’s at stake while carefully using the emotional/fear appeal and maintain Nat Geo’s print execution standards.
Strategy
The target group is adults between 30 and 50 years, with high education and high income. They read about space, history, technology, nature and psychology - and much else. They are inherently curious, with an incessant desire to learn more and are increasingly concerned about their changing environment. The campaign will feature a reflection of a polar bear without the real polar bear visually portraying that they are at the edge of disappearance.
The campaign will ensure optimal viewership and generate buzz and energy around the featured Nat Geo documentary premiering October 30th, 2020: The Last Ice; among current and new viewers of the National Geographic channel and shed light on the elusive and fragile wild world of the Arctic.