Plastastic

Client: WWF

Agency: BBDO

Plastic and its affect on the oceans has just about been done to death, but hey, what's one more campaign? 

Art Direction: This is a pretty cool concept, and beautifully executed. It looks just like Avatar--which kind of defeats the purpose. They make plastic look magical and really attractive. Whoops.  4/5

Have You Cried Today? Let me help you...

Young & Rubicam of Paris sure know their anatomy: they can play your tear ducts and your heart strings like a concert pianist. The Surfrider Foundation and Rubicam tackle marine pollution with these gut-wrenchers:

Recycling is still really important. This still happens:

Seal strangled by a plastic ring.

And so does this:

This turtle encountered a plastic ring as an infant, and suffered permanent deformity.

People are lazy. People consume too much. Most people don't want to have two (or more, my saintly mother has four trashcans for recyclables) trashcans. Most people don't want to make an effort to stop buying plastic. 


If those pictures don't convince you, what about this-- there is a trash island in the ocean. 


An island.


Of.


Trash.


It's massive. Off the coast of the Maldives. You can see it on google earth. 

All trash, all the time.

Here's what you can do:


*You're smart! Get crafty. There are a lot of ways to minimize your plastic usage. So many things are plastic and we don't even realize. Things like toothpaste, shampoo and soap are easy to make on your own. EcoDiva has awesome advice for simplifying your life without making it harder. And you'd be surprised how good it feels--you'll strut around all week feeling like Captain Planet.


*Avoid purchasing plastic. Some things, like food, come in plastic. Or Styrofoam. Or any other kind of weird, manmade weapon of cute killing. A lot of that is surprisingly easy to avoid. Fan of juice and milk? Get the cartons (unless you're not already drinking organic milk, which you should, because non-organic milk makes you fat and if you're a woman, gives you that weird post-baby looking FUPA fat). Soda drinker? So am I. Opt for sodas that come in glass bottles--like the Mexican Coca-Cola I'm totally addicted to like cocai--wait a second...


For the love of God, recycle. Get. Your shit. Together. I promise you, it's not hard to get a separate trash bin. For you people who think it's a "waste of taxpayer's money" or "too much of a hassle", scroll back up and look at those pictures. While you're at it, go watch Finding Nemo and Planet Earth and then tell me it's a waste of money.