Your loss can be Greenpeace’s gain
Never one to pussyfoot around, Greenpeace is shamelessly breaking the final taboo, death.
Few charities ‘go there’ when it comes to legacy funds, but agency Elvis has produced an upfront appeal via ‘We Won't Rest In Peace’ for Greenpeace Legacy, framing wills as defiant activism beyond the grave.
The film energises over-50s with some fist shaking activism, compelling them to use their demise as a final stand against pollution and environmental degradation.
The ad opens with a sombre graveside eulogy urging the deceased to "rest in peace," before a defiant voice from beyond the grave, acted by Howard Saddler, highlights planetary crises like plastic pollution, deforestation, and oil spills.
Animated skeletons and ghosts then rise to declare the virtues of battling climate change post-mortem, and safeguarding habitats as "worm food", ending with a rallying cry that destructive corporations "haven't heard the last of us."
Our take
Legacy ads are rare, I guess because it’s a tricky subject to handle. When they do appear, they tend to adopt traditional, respectful tones: a far cry from the punk rebellion of Greenpeace’s effort.
If ever there was a moment for some dark humour, however, this is it, and Greenpeace seems as apt as any to deliver it, given their famous lack of subtlety.
If the aim of an ad is for you to take notice, it certainly delivers, and to be fair, that’s quite the market it’s going for (on my last calculation precisely 100% of us will one day die), so who can blame them?
It’s hard to draw parallels with this unique effort, but Planter’s Mr. Peanut's ‘Funeral’, comes to mind. In this dramatic Super Bowl stunt, the company staged a ‘celebrity funeral’, Wes Anderson-style with Wesley Snipes and Miss Piggy. Tasteful it wasn’t but, like Greenpeace’s ad, you’ll remember it.
Credits
Agency: elvis (London)
Creatives: Alex Vasile (Creative Director), Sam Hinckley and Chris Lawlor (Senior Creative)
Directors: The Nott Brothers, via production company Irresistible
Key Production Credits: Charles Mori (DOP), The Set Sisters (Production Designers), Josh Elwell and Emily Jones (Puppeteers), plus HMUA by Niki Henry
All images courtesy of Greenpeace campaign.
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