As Kiwis emerge from lockdown, the World Wildlife Fund has created a new campaign in New Zealand reminding the world about animals in captivity.

The evocative campaign created by Colenso BBDO and Hearts and Science aims to raise awareness and funds and put a stop to the illegal wildlife trade. The campaign consists of large format out-of-home (OOH) billboards featuring photos of caged tigers, and social posts featuring shaky camera footage from illegal tiger establishments.

There has been greater awareness of the devastating impacts of the illegal tiger trade due to the inescapable popularity of Netflix’s Tiger King. The tactical campaign appeals to a heightened human understanding of lockdown and captivity following the COVID-19 crisis. 

“The COVID-19 lockdown was the perfect time to start talking about this issue and engaging Kiwis to help us restore the balance with nature,” says Livia Esterhazy, CEO of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) New Zealand.

Megan Smith, chief client officer at Hearts and Science, says: “Netflix first brought the story of the illegal tiger trade into NZers’ homes, and now as we are able to leave our captivity, H&S and our OOH media partners (Go Media Limited, JCDecaux and QMS Media) have taken the opportunity to reinforce that the end isn’t in sight for these tigers – showing the stark reality on large format digital OOH across the country.”