Tasked with creating a signature campaign for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, we knew we had taken on a big responsibility. Getting straight to the heart of what Durrell stands for (saving species from extinction), the campaign needed to tug at exactly the right number of heartstrings, yet remain optimistic and engaging.
We had already worked with the Trust to refresh its identity, so we knew what made the brand tick. During that project, we came across a copy of a letter written by founder Gerald Durrell placed in a time capsule in 1988. The letter effectively did all the work for us in terms of framing the brand, elegantly stating the six things that really matter in this world – the fundamental values that underpin the Trust. We used the letter as inspiration as we refreshed the company’s brand, complete with a shortened name, “Durrell”, to give the Trust a new global gravitas and ensure the brand wore its philosophy proudly on its (slightly muddy) sleeve.
Durrell’s philosophy was front of mind as we brainstormed this new campaign. The breakthrough for the concept stemmed from these thoughts: what would it be like to be the last of your kind? What kind of emotions would stem from that level of loneliness? And how could this notion of loneliness be turned to Durrell’s advantage to help raise awareness – and funds – for the charity?
Throw a world-famous animation studio, a couple of familiar voices and our expert team of designers and writers into the mix, and you get The Lonely Dodo – a four-minute animation depicting the Dodo’s fruitless quest to find others just like him.
The film launched in April 2013 and has since clocked up more than 300,000 YouTube hits (and counting). Backed up by a burgeoning social media campaign and a rather splendid “Doodle-a-Dodo app” from our digital team, you have a dodo who’s still lonely but significantly more popular than he was before. He’s even won an award.