Conservation organization Pacific Wild is turning a typical tourism campaign on its head with its “Brutal British Columbia” initiative to bring attention to the province’s annual wolf cull.
Vancouver and Toronto-based One23West handled the creative and media strategy.
The B.C. government says its “wolf removal” program is necessary to preserve endangered or at-risk caribou populations within certain areas of the province. Pacific Wild opposes the cull, which it says has killed more than 2,500 wolves since 2015 at a cost to taxpayers of $11.5 million – an estimate that aligns with. B.C. government records.
With “Brutal British Columbia” the organization is taking aim at B.C.’s tourism marketing, which entices visitors by highlighting the province’s wild and natural beauty. As a counterpoint, the group invested in billboards in London (pictured) and Berlin that juxtapose B.C.’s breathtaking landscapes with stark imagery of wolves killed.
The boards went up last week and will remain through at least September.
Pacific Wild’s executive director, Karen McAllister, tells Media in Canada the campaign marks a significant investment for the organization given the international scope, but that agency partner One23West contributed their time pro bono.
“This collaboration was invaluable and helped minimize what would have otherwise been a much more costly venture,” she says. “Their team shares our strong conviction that the wolf cull must end, and this campaign has been a meaningful collaboration for both organizations.”
The campaign kicked off earlier this month in downtown Victoria, where Pacific Wild set up a one-day pop-up shop offering grim “souvenirs” of the cull, like bloodstained tote bags, lifeless plush wolves and T-shirts depicting a wolf with a bloody bullet through its head.
Hidden cameras captured the reactions of visitors, and that footage was used to create a short film that was premiered on the steps of the B.C. legislature and is being amplified across digital platforms through owned channels and paid media.
Colin Penstone, account director at One23West tells MiC that the souvenir shop activation garnered more than 5 million impressions, and that OOH and video is being adapted for social platforms and geotargeted to provincial and federal ridings, including B.C. Premier David Eby’s riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.
The campaign’s aim is to raise awareness of the cull and put pressure on the B.C. government to end it – not chase away would-be visitors.
“We’re not asking the world to turn its back on B.C.,” said Natasha Wehn, project director at Pacific Wild. “We’re asking people to stand up for what makes this province truly beautiful.”
Inside the pop-up shop, visitors were invited to send pre-stamped postcards addressed to Eby demanding an end to the cull, an initiative that continues online.
The organization hopes to continue to ramp up international pressure if current results sustain, and is planning further media amplification efforts in the fall and winter.
