Are you ‘The Face of Litter’?

Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong has launched a campaign for Hong Kong CleanUp Initiative, organised by Ecozine and The Nature Conservancy. The campaign is titled ‘The Face of Litter’.

 

It involved collecting litter from key locations across Hong Kong. These were then analysed for DNA by US-based research centres and Parabon NanoLabs to create a visual representation of the person who has littered. The results were then combined with other factors, such as location, to determine the approximate age of the litterer and arrive at a probable visual of the litterer.

 

Reed Collins, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather Group Hong Kong, said, “This campaign is one of a kind. It’s interactive. It’s innovative. It’s our own science experiment that we’re using to create social change. Litter is such a major problem in Hong Kong and thanks to newly available DNA technology we can now put a face to this anonymous crime and get people to think twice about littering.”

 

Lisa Christensen, founder and CEO, The Hong Kong Cleanup, said, "We are thrilled to be part of this innovative campaign, which is sure to have a positive impact on people and the community. Last year, during the six-week Hong Kong Cleanup Challenge, 418 teams comprising 51,064 participants, collected a total of 3,894,000 kgs of litter from city streets, coastal areas and country trails. Sadly, we suffer from a serious 'pick up after me' mentality, and this simply must change."

 

Rafael Guida, executive creative director, OgilvyOne Hong Kong, added, “While this method may not identify specific individuals, it will be enough to make people think twice about littering. The campaign combines a public service message with science and technology, enabling us to communicate with Hongkongers in a very different way.” 

 

Poster portraits of ‘offenders’ would be placed across the city and online. The agency will also be promoting a video that demonstrates the experiment and warns people not to litter at the risk of becoming the next face of the campaign.

 

Credits

 

Client: The Hong Kong Cleanup

Creative agency: Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong, OgilvyOne

Chief creative officer: Reed Collins 

Executive creative director, OgilvyOne: Rafael Guida 

Creative director, OgilvyOne: Jim Fong 

Head of creative technology: Craig Mason 

Business director, OgilvyOne: Viko Wong 

Group account director, advertising: Carey Pearson 

Account manager, OgilvyOne: Sincere Ng 

Head of TV, Hogarth: Mikyung Kim