The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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Agency: Spark
Date: Jul 2019
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In 2018 Mark Cuban went on Discovery’s Shark Week in an effort to raise $50,000 for anti-finning organization Shark Allies, and shared an alarming statistic.

Florida is the number one shark finning hub in the United States, contributing to the dismemberment and death of over 100,000,000 sharks globally every year.

“I don’t think Floridians realize that more finned sharks go through the ports of Miami than anywhere else,” said Cuban. “We need to stop that.”

Shark Allies didn’t win the $50,000, but the jarring call-to-action hit home with Florida-based advertising agency Spark. Shortly after the episode aired, the agency reached out to the non-profit’s executive director, Stefanie Brendl, about a collaboration, and soon after, added Shark Allies as a pro-bono client for their annual non-profit initiative: STOKED.

To recreate the same jarring effect Cuban’s Shark Week plea had on them, the Spark team designed posters, t-shirts, social media graphics and a unique landing page, all created to stir up conversation and make Floridians double-take, just like they did.

They took familiar symbols like the state of Florida outline and flag, a fishing boat’s net, or a shark’s jaws, and gave them a double meaning.

The work directs to an immersive landing page designed and developed in conjunction with fellow Floridian web development company 5inline. The educational site literally takes visitors deeper into finning, diving through jarring stats and common misconceptions about the practice.

With Shark Week 2019 around the corner and Shark-Con hitting Tampa Bay the weekend of July 12, the campaign is in motion. Shark Allies is calling on Floridians to think about the events a bit differently this year, and support by sharing the site with friends, and signing up to support an anti-finning bill ahead Florida’s 2019 legislative session.

Credits

Spark

Shark Allies