When it comes to birds of love, one rarely thinks of a vulture. Yet this Valentine’s Day, that’s exactly what So Interactive has done by launching a creative digital campaign in partnership with conservation organisation, VulPro, to raise awareness of the plight of South Africa’s vulture population.
People don’t tend to have an emotional connection with vultures because they’re often seen as one of the ‘Ugly Five’; as scavengers or pests. This negative reputation causes people to overlook them and the important role they play in the environment, while making it difficult for conservation organisations to find the funding and support they need. In reality, vultures play an important role in the ecosystem, preventing the spread of dangerous diseases by quickly removing decomposing carcasses from the environment, which makes conservation efforts to protect them both urgent and necessary!
“After reaching out to Kerri Wolter, VulPro founder, we’ve come to understand just how important vultures are, and how urgently we need to take action to conserve them. We knew we could help VulPro make a difference,” says Darren Mansour, founder and digital director of So Interactive.
The campaign launched on Valentine’s Day and makes a play on the “dating” experience by featuring different vultures as unique personalities, speaking about themselves as an eligible single would on a dating show. While the campaign is both amusing and engaging, the objective is to inspire people to stop and think about the endangered status of vultures, while inspiring them to donate to VulPro to support the exceptional conservation work they do.
“We wanted to make sure the campaign was as memorable as it was amusing. By giving each of the vultures their own personality, we also hoped to be able to show a different side of the species, while showing people how important and easy it is to make a difference,” says Mansour.
To make a donation to VulPro, click here: https://www.vulpro.com/donate-2/.
