WildAid anti shark-finning campaign
Billboard in Beijing with the slogan, "When the buying stops the killing can too".
Project Leader: Peter Knights
Background
In January 2008, WildAid released the results of a survey on shark-fin consumption. Key among the findings, was that 76.3% of Chinese people did not actually realise what shark-fin soup was made from. Combine this with the fact that China remains one of the largest consumers of shark-fin products, and the Chinese population becomes the a central target for raising awareness about sharks in particular and marine conservation in general.
In 2006, SOSF also co-produced a television special with WildAid with a more general conservation message, reaching an estimated audience of 200 million Chinese viewers. The film set out to reveal the beauty of the marine world and the vital need for conservation to halt the extinction of many species.
In 2006, SOSF also co-produced a television special with WildAid with a more general conservation message, reaching an estimated audience of 200 million Chinese viewers. The film set out to reveal the beauty of the marine world and the vital need for conservation to halt the extinction of many species.
Advertising and film productions
In support of the anti-finning campaign, one of China’s most popular sporting celebrities, NBA superstar Yao Ming, publicly pledged to no longer eat shark-fin soup. On this back of this WildAid, with the help of SOSF, secured 20 prime locations in the capital Beijing to ensure that over 1 million commuters everyday would see a series of giant billboards featuring Yao with sharks and the blunt, powerful message: ‘When the buying stops the killing can too’.
A second documentary featuring top musician, Liu Huan, is to also be broadcast on television in 2008 and additionally will be shown repeatedly on 2,600 video billboards in Beijing reaching a potential audience of approximately 33 million people per year.
A second documentary featuring top musician, Liu Huan, is to also be broadcast on television in 2008 and additionally will be shown repeatedly on 2,600 video billboards in Beijing reaching a potential audience of approximately 33 million people per year.
Project Update: 2008
While China and the world was enveloped in the Olympics 2008 fever, Save our Seas Foundation and WildAid seized this opportunity to raise the profile of shark conservation in China. Yao Ming, the flag bearer for Team China at the opening ceremony was featured in prominent billboards all around Beijing asking people to stop eating shark fin soup. As well as being on show to the general public, the billboards were seen by at least 182,000 people per day traveling on buses.
During the Olympics, the most popular Beijing radio station FM 103.9 highlighted the fact that Yao is helping sharks through WildAid's campaign by refusing to eat shark fin soup. Broadcasting across the airwaves in China, 75,000 people would have tuned in at this time. This pre and post Olympic campaign has also generated added interest in this issue as seen in the positive response garnered from friends, US government officials, NGOs and media companies. For example China’s Sports Illustrated saw the billboards and offered 21 pages of free advertising, World Magazine ran a series of articles. To keep the momentum going, WildAid and the Beijing Aquarium opened a shark exhibition in August to educate people about the threats facing sharks and the marine environment.
Summary of highlights of overall campaign:
During 2007/08 we developed and expanded our work to reduce demand for shark products primarily in China, the greatest source of demand. The campaign focused on the production of a number of high-impact public service announcements featuring Olympic gold medallists and securing major distribution platforms in Chinese broadcast, internet and print media along with a highly successful billboard campaign featuring Yao Ming. WildAid has simultaneously built on its campaign with tigers, elephants and other endangered species making the clear link in people’s minds that sharks are equally deserving of protection.
Our main stars who pledged not to eat shark fin soup Yao Ming (carried the Chinese flag for the Chinese team), Li Ning (lit the giant torch) and musician Liu Huan (sang on top of the globe) were the main stars of the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Alongside these national Chinese sporting heroes we have recruited many of the next generation of star athletes and with them the endorsement of some of the PSAs by the Beijing Olympic Committee Organizing Committee, which put Yao Ming’s public service announcement on its website and published a brochure asking people not to eat shark fin soup and other wildlife products.
WildAid PSAs have been broadcast in China on numerous mainstream channels, including – CCTV 1,2,6,10, Shanghai Media Group, Guangzhou TV and video billboards. One of the PSAs featuring top musician Liu Huan and sharks recently appeared on national television in primetime (CCTV1 after evening news) reaching in excess of 100 million people in that broadcast alone.
We carried out an extensive billboard and poster campaign around Beijing in the run up to the Games and will continue it afterwards. The billboards were in subway stations, bus stops and prominent locations and garnered a lot of attention. China’s Sports Illustrated donated 21 pages of ads and we wrote a feature length article in the prestigious “World” magazine.
We will be a keynote speaker at the International Aquarium Conference in Shanghai in October 2008 and have been invited to design and sponsor an exhibition at Beijing Aquarium with 1.5 million visitors a year.
In Taiwan WildAid anti-shark fin soup PSAs aired widely on over 20 channels and will continue to air after the Olympics. We launched an exhibition on sharks at the National Museum. We also carried out extensive testing of mercury contamination of shark fin and publicized the results through press conferences in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. (China will follow post Olympics).
WildAid commissioned Hong Kong University to conduct tests on shark fin for mercury. One third of samples contained levels higher than WHO standards. We are working on finalizing a report and video news release about the risks of mercury and have a new revised report on the potential threats of mercury ingestion to human health ready for publication.
We have started our campaign to ask corporations not to serve shark fin at any functions. So far Leonovo, Volkswagen and Citibank are participating and we are developing a campaign to build this as a nationwide campaign, featuring leading brands and business leaders explaining why they will not eat or serve shark fin soup.
In partnership with Oceana we have been working to tighten legislation within the US. WildAid produced a lobbying video and 2 psas from Olympic swimmers and a new version of the “End of the Line?”
We have started work with the Ocean Protection Council of the State of California to ban shark fin sales state wide which would create a global precedent. We have also been in dialogue with the government of Canada along the same lines.
We are half way through production of a major piece on shark finning and the demand for shark fin soup with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Planet in Peril series, which will air in December globally.
During the Olympics, the most popular Beijing radio station FM 103.9 highlighted the fact that Yao is helping sharks through WildAid's campaign by refusing to eat shark fin soup. Broadcasting across the airwaves in China, 75,000 people would have tuned in at this time. This pre and post Olympic campaign has also generated added interest in this issue as seen in the positive response garnered from friends, US government officials, NGOs and media companies. For example China’s Sports Illustrated saw the billboards and offered 21 pages of free advertising, World Magazine ran a series of articles. To keep the momentum going, WildAid and the Beijing Aquarium opened a shark exhibition in August to educate people about the threats facing sharks and the marine environment.
Summary of highlights of overall campaign:
- Leveraged tens of millions of dollars of pro-bono media space.
- Achieved nationwide coverage with our high-impact shark PSAs on the State-run networks (the first foreign organisation ever to do this pro bono).
- Secured the direct, active support of Chinese Olympic greats – each prominently featured in the Opening Ceremony for the Games (Yao Ming, carrying the Chinese Team flag; Liu Huan, performing the theme song; Li Ning lighting the Olympic flame in the birds nest stadium).
- Won the support of Chinese Government for our campaign, crucially including the backing of the highly influential Beijing Organising Committee for the Olypmic Games (BOCOG), which featured our Yao Ming message on it’s web site and published a brochure calling on people not to consume endangered species.
- Developed an extremely high-impact billboard advertising campaign on shark in Beijing featured over 6 months in the run up to the Olympic Games
- Developed substantial new partnerships for distribution and development of our communications campaigns, notably with Tencent, China’s leading internet platform with over 220 million registered users; on City TV, with our messages featuring on 9,000 monitors, 60 times/day across Beijing; with Red Wall media on 25 giant video walls in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian, playing 1,200 times daily in total; with Sports Illustrated (China) providing 21 full page free ads and several other key partnerships.
During 2007/08 we developed and expanded our work to reduce demand for shark products primarily in China, the greatest source of demand. The campaign focused on the production of a number of high-impact public service announcements featuring Olympic gold medallists and securing major distribution platforms in Chinese broadcast, internet and print media along with a highly successful billboard campaign featuring Yao Ming. WildAid has simultaneously built on its campaign with tigers, elephants and other endangered species making the clear link in people’s minds that sharks are equally deserving of protection.
Our main stars who pledged not to eat shark fin soup Yao Ming (carried the Chinese flag for the Chinese team), Li Ning (lit the giant torch) and musician Liu Huan (sang on top of the globe) were the main stars of the Olympics Opening Ceremony. Alongside these national Chinese sporting heroes we have recruited many of the next generation of star athletes and with them the endorsement of some of the PSAs by the Beijing Olympic Committee Organizing Committee, which put Yao Ming’s public service announcement on its website and published a brochure asking people not to eat shark fin soup and other wildlife products.
WildAid PSAs have been broadcast in China on numerous mainstream channels, including – CCTV 1,2,6,10, Shanghai Media Group, Guangzhou TV and video billboards. One of the PSAs featuring top musician Liu Huan and sharks recently appeared on national television in primetime (CCTV1 after evening news) reaching in excess of 100 million people in that broadcast alone.
We carried out an extensive billboard and poster campaign around Beijing in the run up to the Games and will continue it afterwards. The billboards were in subway stations, bus stops and prominent locations and garnered a lot of attention. China’s Sports Illustrated donated 21 pages of ads and we wrote a feature length article in the prestigious “World” magazine.
We will be a keynote speaker at the International Aquarium Conference in Shanghai in October 2008 and have been invited to design and sponsor an exhibition at Beijing Aquarium with 1.5 million visitors a year.
In Taiwan WildAid anti-shark fin soup PSAs aired widely on over 20 channels and will continue to air after the Olympics. We launched an exhibition on sharks at the National Museum. We also carried out extensive testing of mercury contamination of shark fin and publicized the results through press conferences in Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. (China will follow post Olympics).
WildAid commissioned Hong Kong University to conduct tests on shark fin for mercury. One third of samples contained levels higher than WHO standards. We are working on finalizing a report and video news release about the risks of mercury and have a new revised report on the potential threats of mercury ingestion to human health ready for publication.
We have started our campaign to ask corporations not to serve shark fin at any functions. So far Leonovo, Volkswagen and Citibank are participating and we are developing a campaign to build this as a nationwide campaign, featuring leading brands and business leaders explaining why they will not eat or serve shark fin soup.
In partnership with Oceana we have been working to tighten legislation within the US. WildAid produced a lobbying video and 2 psas from Olympic swimmers and a new version of the “End of the Line?”
We have started work with the Ocean Protection Council of the State of California to ban shark fin sales state wide which would create a global precedent. We have also been in dialogue with the government of Canada along the same lines.
We are half way through production of a major piece on shark finning and the demand for shark fin soup with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Planet in Peril series, which will air in December globally.