Sprouts Environment Trust: The fish friendly Ganesha idol #GodSaveTheOcean

The Ganesha festival is one of India’s most celebrated festivals, during which millions of Ganesha idols are immersed in the sea as per tradition. However, most of these idols are made of toxic materials like PoP, lead, zinc and mercury, which pollute the sea and kill the fish. To counter this, we created innovative Ganesha idols out of vegetarian fish food. So these idols don’t pollute the sea, and are consumed by the fish instead.

Brief:
To generate unprecedented awareness for the serious harm we put the ocean and its creatures through during the 10 day long Ganesha Festival. And to find a solution for the same

Solution:
“We needed a solution that took care of tradition & the environment. Thus we created the fish friendly Ganesha idols, that the fish could consume. Since huge idols cause more damage, we reduced the size to just 9″. The idol’s outer river clay coating dissolves in just 4 hours, leaving the rest for the fish to enjoy.
And we introduced it the idea with a hashtag #GodSaveTheOcean to promote this.”

Results:
“We introduced the idea with a poster on FB & a hashtag, #GodSavetheOcean that went viral instantly, reaching 12.8 million people. And demand was overwhelming. The hashtag became the top trending topic. Celebrities tweeted & spread the word. Covered by newspapers & radio. Over 300,000 shares, 1000 conversations & comments on FB creating unparalleled support & awareness. All the idols were sold out.”

Insights:
“We created unique fish friendly idols & we introduced the idea with
a poster on FB & a hashtag, #GodSavetheOcean that went viral instantly, reaching 12.8 million people. And demand was overwhelming.Over 300,000 shares on FB. &1000 conversations & comments, creating unparalleled support & awareness. Covered extensively by the media. Zero media spends & all idols sold out.”

#GodSaveTheOcean

Credits:
Client: SPROUTS Environment Trust
Brand: NGO
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, India
National Creative Director: Rajiv Rao
Creative Directors: Elizabeth Dias, Srreram Athray
Art Director: Farid Bawa
Account director: Kunal Dangarwala
Additional credits: Action and Cut films