As 5 June marked this year’s World Environment Day, Ogilvy India launched two digital campaigns on Wildlife Trafficking for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  

Conceptualized by Ogilvy for UNEP in association with WCCB (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau), India’s MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change) and TRAFFIC, the two campaigns titled ‘Not Your Medicine’ & ‘#SadEmojis’ were released by India’s Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Keshav Javadekar.

According to a release issued by the agency, rampant smuggling and slaughter of several Indian wildlife species occurs due to superstitious beliefs and myths. Body parts of animals are traded and prescribed to allegedly cure people from numerous diseases despite the lack of substantial scientific proof. The campaign ‘Not your medicine’ delivers a hard-hitting point through its visuals by highlighting species that suffer due to fake remedies. 

The second campaign uses a special set of Emojis that were created to raise awareness about the most trafficked wildlife species and their plights. The emoji were created to show only one type of emotion, sadness. The campaign urged individuals who wanted to support the case to use the exclusive “Sad Emojis” in their conversations with friends and family.

“The COVID -19 pandemic has been a wake-up call to the human race to respect nature and to learn to coexist (as) illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest global crime,” said Country Head of India’s United Nations Environment Programme, Atul Bagai. “It is driven by demand for trophies, fashion accessories, exquisite cuisine, exotic pets and products based on cultural/ superstitious beliefs (and) in building back better, we need to remember that these species being traded illegally for false remedies is one of the most serious threats to the existence of wildlife.”