WWF – The Last Word

The Last Word campaign by WWF. Watch how we killed a 4,000-year-old word to keep elephants alive

Hong Kong is the world’s Ivory trade capital. But because the word for “Ivory” translates to “elephant-tooth,” over 70% of Chinese people believe Ivory extraction is harmless. We needed to pressure the government to ban the trade.

Idea: Change the law by changing the language. Hong Kongers Joined forces with linguistic experts to co-create a new word for “ivory.” Each word was also a petition signature. We showed the harm caused by a simple word and created lasting cultural change.

Result: The HK Government banned the ivory trade in January 2016.

Credits
Brand: WWF
Campaign: The Last Word
Agency: Geometry Global
PR: Ogilvy Public Relations
Production: Hogarth & Ogilvy