Morgan Freeman Lends His Iconic Voice in Fierce Bid to Save Our Oceans From Their Biggest Threat
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050. This is one of the reasons for a new film created in partnership with Google, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, United Nations and Tribeca Enterprises and narrated by Morgan Freeman, that identifies a new creature of ocean inhabitant.
Sadly, the Covid-19 global pandemic may expedite the terrifying plastic prediction. The WEF recently reported that in Thailand plastic waste has increased from 1,500 tons to 6,300 tons per day, owing to soaring home deliveries of food. In the United Kingdom, illegal waste disposal has risen by 300%.
Understanding that in just a few decades we could have plastic waste swimming in every corner of our planet, decimating entire fish species and ecosystems along the way, YouTube, Google, Tribeca Enterprises, the United Nations and Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) are launching a campaign for one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Titled 'Life Below Water: The Arrival of a New Species', the underwater short film is narrated by the one and only Morgan Freeman and has all the elements of a well-crafted, modern-day nature documentary, while it provides a sneak peek into the future of our oceans in a world where plastic pollution continues to increase at its current rate. Tribeca filmmaker Brian Schulz directed the piece.
The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 - also titled 'Life Below Water' - and to inspire a new generation of activists to take action. Because if they don’t act, much more than just nature documentaries will transform in our time.
“Ocean pollution has an impact on the food we eat, the air we breathe, land and wildlife across the globe, and our overall health and wellness. Not to mention the wide range of social and economic burdens that will grow steadily as the problem gets worse. Every part of our life is affected by the health of our oceans, so ignoring the problem will prove more detrimental than we can imagine,” said Kate Baynham, associate creative director at GS&P.
The campaign launched on 4th August on YouTube and will continue to unfold over a four-week span via the platform’s video ad sequencing offering. This will include two :06 ads to tease interest, a full-length short film and four :15 action-oriented messages. The campaign structure aims to target and deliver content to viewers on YouTube in a pre-defined sequence that unfolds the entire story over a month-long period.
"With attention spans shrinking and a majority of YouTube viewing taking place on mobile devices, a sequential approach to storytelling provides the opportunity to tell stories in easily digestible parts,” said Christine Chen, partner and head of communication strategy at GS&P. “For this series, we entice our sequence with a surprising invitation from Morgan Freeman, serve viewers a full-length short-film and conclude with actionable steps people can take to make our oceans cleaner.”
In the coming months, 'Life Below Water' will be featured at the UN General Assembly, the Tribeca Film Festival, and Advertising Week 2020. The piece will appear next to the work of campaigns from seven other agencies around the world, all of whom, along with GS&P, were selected by the UN, YouTube and Google to create films raising awareness of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
