COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COMSPECIAL REPORT SEPTEMBER 2019
ROSIE ARNOLD HIGHLIGHTS AMV BBDO’S
MULTI-AWARD-WINNING TRASH ISLES
CAMPAIGN AS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT A
GREAT IDEA CAN DOHOW THE RIGHT
IDEA CAN CHANGE
THE WORLDWinning three Yellow, three Graphite and four
Wood Pencils at D&AD in 2018, Trash Isles
demonstrates how out-of-the-box thinking can
provide a totally fresh perspective on how to
solve a seemingly insurmountable issue.
“Trash Isles is a creative answer to a
massive problem: there’s too much plastic in
the oceans,” she explains. In the international
waters of the North Pacific, a vast island of
plastic trash the size of France has been largely
ignored by governments the world over.
In an ingenious twist, Plastic Oceans
Foundation and LADbible submitted an
application to the UN to recognise The Trash
Isles as an official country – thus compelling
other nations to clean it up. Some 200,000
people became citizens of the ‘country’, and
the campaign reached half a billion people.
Craft took the execution to the next level –
AMV BBDO gave The Trash Isles its own flag,
a passport, even a currency. But it was that
simple, powerful idea that gave the campaign
some real teeth.
“It forced the UN into a position where they
had to confront it, as opposed to just creating
something beautiful that governments can turn
a blind eye to,” says Arnold. “When legislation
happens, that’s when change happens. That
piece of thinking really made a difference.”