The Dublin-based creative agency Rothco was behind a unique media first in Ireland when it teamed up with Dublin Zoo to celebrate the recent birth of a baby rhinoceros at the Zoo while at the same time highlighting the plight of the endangered white rhino in Africa at the hands of poachers.
Taking out full page ads in the Irish Sun, the agency reframed the traditional ‘Birth, Deaths & Notices’ section in the paper to highlight their plight and to illuminate the startling contrast between the birth and death rates of the threatened species.
According to Alan Kelly, executive creative director with Rothco: “It’s great to know that even the oldest advertising medium print can still surprise and delight readers. Our ‘Births, Deaths & Notices’ execution seemed the perfect way to celebrate the rhino calf’s birth without ignoring the wider tragic context of what’s happening to the rhino population worldwide.”
Leo Oosterweghel, Director of Dublin Zoo adds: “A powerful and brilliant concept to turn statistics into individual animals telling their story. When I saw it, it made me sit up straight and think!”
It is estimated that just 20,000 white rhinos exist in the wild worldwide. Since 2008, the species has been under threat as the animals are poached for their horns. The ad serves to highlight the urgent need for the conservation and protection of rhinos.
