"Straw Stuck in Turtle's Nose"... Cheil Worldwide Launches 'Trash Fashion Show'

Raising Awareness of Plastic Pollution
Advertising Created Using Generative AI
Broadcast on Large Outdoor Media in Gwanghwamun

Cheil Worldwide and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced on July 22 that they are launching the "Trash Fashion Show" campaign to raise awareness about the severity of plastic pollution threatening the survival of wildlife.

The Trash Fashion Show campaign is a unique environmental protection project that depicts animals entangled in human-generated waste, presenting their images in the style of fashion show model photo shoots. The campaign was designed to increase public awareness and participation regarding the issue of plastic waste.

The campaign features striking and vivid videos of animals suffering from trash, such as "a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose," "a seal entangled in discarded fishing nets," and "an elephant with its face covered in plastic." These visuals are accompanied by the message, "Please stop plastic waste now."

All ten animal videos were created exclusively using AI technology, without any real-life filming or staging. A Cheil Worldwide representative stated, "To vividly portray the suffering of animals caused by human waste, we used various generative AI tools to meticulously recreate every detail, from individual animal hairs to the texture of the trash."

To deliver the campaign message more powerfully and effectively, large outdoor digital billboards were chosen as the primary medium. In collaboration with Digital Chosun, which supports the campaign's purpose, the campaign videos will be broadcast on the large LED billboard on the wall of the Koreana Hotel in Gwanghwamun until August 20. In addition, campaign content such as card news will be released sequentially on WWF's official social media channels and other online platforms.

Park Minhye, Secretary General of WWF Korea, stated, "Seventy-nine percent of global plastic production ends up as waste. We hope that this 'Trash Fashion Show' campaign, which visualizes this reality through AI, will raise public awareness. For tangible outcomes at the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), to be held in Switzerland this August, public interest and participation are essential."