From Beach Fun to Ocean Killer: The Campaign Making Us Rethink Inflatables

Single-use packaging, bottles, bags, cutlery… we all know the usual suspects when it comes to plastic pollution and its environmental toll, especially on marine life. Many of us are still scarred by images of turtles suffocated by straws and six-pack rings. But one campaign is turning the spotlight on a surprising culprit: beach inflatables, which are discarded in their millions by holidaymakers each year.

In collaboration with The Marine Conservation Society, Thomas Cook’s ‘Deflatables’ combines the symbol of holiday family fun with its broader implications. Creative from McCann Birmingham depicts beloved sea creatures – a turtle, dolphin, and orca – as half-deflated inflatables marooned on a beach, demonstrating just how tightly our litter and the fate of marine life are intertwined. Running across OOH in airports and on socials throughout the holiday period, the campaign ultimately hopes to encourage jet-setting families to reduce, reuse, or recycle, while also calling upon hotels to do their part by offering the facilities to do so.

The idea is a difficult one to navigate for a number of reasons. How can the story of plastic pollution be refreshed for audiences who may be growing fatigued with environmental messaging? How can the images drive home the tragic reality of the situation while still being appropriate viewing for families with young children, and illustrating that there’s still hope for future improvement? And how can an OOH campaign achieve the desired impact of long-lasting change in a media channel that, according to System1, captures just two seconds of audience attention?

McCann Birmingham’s ECD, Adam Bodfish, and motion and CG designer, Sandeep Singh, sat down with Zara Naseer to shed light on the topic.

Above (left to right): McCann Birmingham’s ECD, Adam Bodfish, and motion and CG designer, Sandeep Singh

LBB> What was the brief from Thomas Cook and The Marine Conservation Society, and how did you initially respond?

Adam> Considering the dire state of our oceans, the fact that more than half of holidaymakers leave their inflatables behind each year is not a great stat. It is an open brief for creativity though, so we started work on a strategy, concept, and a sketch on the back of a Christmas card. We then took the idea to Thomas Cook and the Marine Conservation Society who were fully on-board from the start and both of their teams brought so much to the campaign.

Sandeep> Straight away it was clear that we needed to craft a visual concept that would be universally understood and emotionally engaging to grab attention and, crucially, encourage action. This is an issue that affects everyone, regardless of age, as we all have a role to play in safeguarding our oceans.

LBB> The general public are continuously warned about the dangers of plastic pollution. How did you work to put a new spin on the messaging to make it resonate with audiences on a deeper level?

Adam> It’s true people are used to seeing warnings about the dangers of plastics, but I think as a society we’re less aware of the impact we have specifically with inflatables. When you hear ‘plastic pollution’, straws and plastic bags often come to mind. No one’s thinking about the impact their holiday lilo has on dolphins. So, I think the subject area itself is new news to lots of people, but from the start we wanted to do something impactful that would force people to take notice, even if they’ve hit message fatigue on plastics.

LBB> The visuals you decided upon to illustrate this problem are really striking. Given they’re going to be seen by families with young children, were you conscious of confronting viewers without being too explicit? How did you identify the right balance?

Adam> We wanted these visuals to be impactful and arresting, but we didn’t want them to be unpleasant. The team did a brilliant job of maintaining that balance. But Sandeep will do a better job of explaining how!

Sandeep> The images of deflated sea turtles, orcas, and dolphins were deliberately chosen for their striking and impactful nature, as they vividly communicate the severe consequences of plastic pollution on marine life. However, I understood the importance of balancing this strong message with sensitivity, ensuring that the visuals were powerful without being too explicit or distressing.

The deflated animals were designed to represent the lifelessness and decline caused by plastic pollution, a visual metaphor that is both impactful and thought-provoking. The deflation suggests a loss of life without showing explicit harm, allowing viewers to grasp the seriousness of the issue while still being appropriate for a broad audience, including young children.

LBB> I’d be curious to hear about some of the other ideas that didn’t make the cut.

Adam> Our first thoughts were much more tactical. We wanted to make a real difference to the problem so we thought about how we could leverage our partnership with Thomas Cook to encourage more hotels to offer inflatable recycling. Then we thought about maybe repurposing discarded inflatables for something useful, which we’d still like to do. But ultimately, we wanted to raise awareness of the problem before we started to think further down the funnel.

Sandeep> In developing the visuals for our campaign, we explored several different creative avenues before landing on the final concept. One of the initial approaches we considered involved using AI to generate the images we envisioned. This approach seemed promising, as the AI could produce a variety of artistic interpretations quickly, allowing us to experiment with different styles and ideas.

However, during the testing phase, we found that the images generated by the AI, while interesting, didn’t fully capture the precise emotional tone and visual impact we were aiming for. The AI-produced visuals lacked the level of control we needed to ensure that the images were both powerful and appropriate for our target audience, especially given the sensitivity of the subject matter.

As a result, we decided to pivot and use 3D modelling instead. This method provided us with far greater control over the composition, details, and overall impact of the visuals. By using 3D, we were able to meticulously craft the deflated sea turtle, orca, and dolphin images to evoke exactly the right emotions without being too explicit.

LBB> As well as on socials, the ads will run across OOH in airports. What’s the key to forcing pre-occupied passers-by to stop in their tracks and pay attention to your message?

Adam> Let’s not forget that people spend lots of time standing in queues at airports. And there are even a few precious moments when they don’t even have their phones to distract them. But it’s no different to the challenge any OOH faces, really. It’s been shown that OOH on average captures about two seconds of attention. The key to cutting through is immediacy – grabbing people’s attention quickly and connecting on an emotional level.

Sandeep> Recognizing that people often become desensitised to repetitive warnings, the messaging cut through the noise with a message that was brutally honest and designed to evoke a visceral reaction.

By opting for a raw, honest message, the campaign resonated on a deeper level. It wasn’t just about informing the public, it was about making them feel the urgency and the tragedy of plastic pollution in a way that compelled them to take action.

LBB> Sandeep, how did you go about crafting such realistic and impactful visuals? Did you use any specialist tech or techniques?

Sandeep> To craft such realistic and impactful visuals, I utilised Blender, a powerful 3D software that allowed me to have complete control over the entire creative process, especially with lighting and camera angles. The ability to manipulate these elements was crucial in achieving the emotional depth and realism we aimed for in the campaign.

The process began with sourcing the right 3D models for the sea animals. Once we had the models, I used physics and cloth simulation within Blender to deflate the sea animals realistically. This was a challenging but necessary step to convey the lifelessness caused by plastic pollution. I then used a specialised technique to inflate certain parts of the models, ensuring that they looked naturally deflated in some areas while maintaining some structure in others. To achieve a seamless transition between the deflated and non-deflated parts, I fine-tuned the models through sculpting in Blender, which was crucial for enhancing the realism.

Texturing was another key focus to bring these creatures to life—or rather, to convey the tragic lack of life. I paid close attention to the textures, adding details that would make the sea creatures appear as realistic, washed-up animals, further driving home the message of the campaign.

Once the base renders were complete, I handed them over to our head of design, George Aytoun. He took the visuals into Photoshop for grading and added some post production VFX. George did an amazing job, ensuring that the final images were not only visually striking but also emotionally resonant, perfectly aligning with the campaign’s goals.

The use of Blender, combined with detailed sculpting, texturing, and expert post production work, allowed us to create visuals that were both realistic and impactful, successfully conveying the urgency of the issue at hand.

LBB> The ads feature a turtle, orca, and dolphin. Why did you choose these animals to depict, and why are they shown half-deflated, rather than fully?

Adam> They’re the easily recognized, iconic animals that we all have an emotional connection with. It’s why they’re also frequently reproduced as inflatables. The sea animals that we all know and love but have probably also sat on as an inflatable at some point was the connection we needed to land.

Sandeep> The decision to depict these animals as half-deflated, rather than fully, was very intentional. A fully deflated animal might not have conveyed the same message, almost as if the damage were already done and irreversible. Instead, showing them half-deflated captures a moment of transition, where the animals are in the process of losing their vitality but are not yet completely lifeless. This imagery is a powerful metaphor for the current state of our oceans. The damage is severe, but there is still a chance to take action and prevent total devastation.

LBB> What were the main challenges you faced while working on this campaign? How did you find a solution?

Adam> The main challenge was making it. This could never have been a straight-up shoot, because we obviously wouldn’t have wanted to endanger any wildlife. And real inflatables aren’t real-life enough for the idea to work (not to mention they contribute to the problem we’re trying to address). So, we had to explore different ways of achieving the idea digitally.

One of the most rewarding parts of this campaign has been experimenting with AI to enhance the creative process of talented human beings. AI is pretty powerful, but the real magic happens when humans step in. Our ability to think critically, mix and match different tools, fail and adapt is what makes the difference.

Sandeep> One of the main challenges was figuring out how to accurately depict the deflating aspect of the sea animals in 3D. Achieving this effect required the use of physics and cloth simulation, which can be unpredictable at times and often requires a lot of trial and error. It took time and patience to get the simulations right, but my enthusiasm for the project and the desire to create something impactful kept me motivated. I experimented with different approaches until I found a solution that effectively conveyed the intended message.

Despite the hurdles, I thoroughly enjoyed working on this campaign. The combination of technical challenges and creative exploration made it a rewarding experience. In the end, the hard work paid off, and we were able to produce a piece of work that not only met but exceeded our initial expectations.