“Don’t Chop My Home” Advertisements
Client: Nature Conservation Council
The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) of New South Wales (NSW) is an environmental organisation founded in 1955 and based in Sydney, Australia. Its positioning statement is “the voice for nature in NSW” and has been campaigning for the protection of nature for over 65 years.
In December, 2022, NCC commissioned me to design an advertisement for them to help them gain signatories for their open letter to candidates and MPs contesting the 2023 NSW state election. The open letter calls on them to stop wood-chipping native forests, protect the Great Koala National Park, make a commitment to end native forest logging, create a plan to develop sustainable timber plantations, and ban the burning of native forests to generate electricity.
The headline of the advertisement read “don’t chop my home” and was juxtaposed with an image of a greater glider staring forward to suggest that it is pleading with the viewer. The beautiful photo of the greater glider was taken by one of Australia’s leading nature photographers, Pavel German. The word “chop” in the headline was cut in half to visually communicate what could happen to its home, making the emotional appeal of the greater glider to the audience even stronger. The rest of the advertisement had the following copy.
“Did you know that an area of native forest 50 times the size of the Sydney CBD is chopped down every year by the NSW government-owned logging company?
And that it runs at a loss, requiring $29 million of taxpayer subsidies in the last two years?
With koalas and greater gliders now officially listed as endangered, these majestic old trees are more precious than ever.
Scan the QR code or go to nature.org.au/forests to learn more and help protect NSW’s native forests from logging.”
The full-page advertisement appeared in the January edition of The Tawny Frogmouth magazine. A publication that is delivered to over 50,000 addresses in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney every month. It is also appearing in the March edition of The Beast magazine. Of which, 62,000 copies are printed each month, and distributed throughout Sydney’s eastern suburbs. NCC are also using the graphic assets from the advertisement for their online promotions of the open letter.
In February, 2023, NCC commissioned me to design another advertisement for them, which had the same purpose as the previous greater glider one, but this time featuring a photo of a koala. There were four variations of the design which all appeared in separate magazines, which each had messaging that was targeted to the candidates of the electorates where those magazines are distributed. This was done to tailor the messages so that they are specific to the relevant audiences, and also to apply additional pressure by calling out candidates on their positions relevant to protecting endangered species such as the koala.
The headline of the advertisement was once again “don’t chop my home” and styled in the same way. Except, instead of the green colour previously used, the highlight colour this time was a tint of the red from NCC’s style guide. This was done to make it a pink colour that would be in harmony with the pinkish colouring that appears on the face of the koalas. The beautiful photo of the koala and its joey facing towards the camera was chosen to once again create a sense that the animals are pleading with the viewer, and to elicit sympathy. This was further achieved by photo editing the mouth of the koala to have a subtle frown, to visually indicate that it is sad about the possibility of its home being chopped down. The rest of the pictured advertisement had the following copy.
Koalas need trees. But sadly, under the Liberal-National Coalition land-clearing rates have tripled.
More and more developments are being approved in koala habitat, and native forest logging flattens an area 50 times the size of Sydney’s CBD every year. That’s why koalas are now endangered and risk extinction in NSW.
In response, conservationists are calling for protection of the Great Koala National Park. Both Labor and the Greens have committed to this crucial protection. Only the Liberal-National Coalition is missing in action for koalas.
Scan the QR code or go to nature.org.au/forests to sign our open letter calling on all candidates to step up for our forests this state election.
The full-page advertisements is appearing in four different magazines, which include the Autumn edition of the Coal Coast magazine, and the March editions of The Tawny Frogmouth and Pittwater Life magazines. Combined, these advertisements will reach hundreds of thousands of people before they cast their votes in the NSW state election on Saturday 25 March.
It was a pleasure to work the with the NCC on these advertisements to help protect the habitat of endangered species, such as koalas, gang-gang cockatoos, and the greater glider. I urge all reading this to add your name to NCC’s open letter. If enough community pressure is placed on the MPs of the next NSW Government, then it will create a better chance that the government will take action to protect the habitats of these endangered species.
Find out more about NCC and their work to protect nature: nature.org.au
Policy & Advocacy Director: Dr Brad Smith, NCC.
Forest Campaigner: Wilson Harris, NCC.
Art Direction & Design: Jarren Nylund, Design Good Design Studio.
