See link for photo.
A herd of digital elephants is to march across the world to raise awareness of the grave threat faced by the animals in Africa.
The elephants will be seen on giant billboards in Britain, Hong Kong and New York to highlight the illegal ivory trade. An elephant is killed every 25 minutes, and a third of the global population has been wiped out in the past seven years.
Londoners can join the herd by going to www.marchforgiants.org to create their own personalised elephant, and will be able to see the parade when #MarchforGiants reaches the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.
The initiative, which supports the work of Space for Giants, the conservation charity of which Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev is a patron, is the world’s first to link global billboard space.
Space for Giants ambassador Anna Friel said: “The rate of slaughter of elephants is horrific. I don’t want a future without elephants, and I’ll do everything I can to stop that from happening.”
An elephant with an Evening Standard logo will be among the digital herd along with Givergy, Made by Riley, National Express, Ocean Outdoor, Westfield, Chantecaille, The Delta Group, BCD Travel and First Avenue.
Every corporate partner’s donation will enable the charity to protect an elephant in the wild for life.
#MarchforGiants begins in Hong Kong on March 23, progressing to Times Square in New York and then Westfield Stratford City on March 24, Birmingham the following day and ending in Manchester on March 26.
Members of the public can create their own elephant for £5 and will receive a photo of it marching around the world to share on social media.
The charity’s work includes training anti-poaching rapid response teams and securing protected landscapes for elephants to roam. This has led to an 84 per cent reduction in elephant poaching in North Kenya in three years.
The digital elephant project was conceived by creative agency 18 Feet & Rising, brought to life by Popped, Free Folk and DOOH.com, and the four-day virtual parade takes place on screens operated by Ocean Outdoor.
William Thacker, creative director at 18 Feet & Rising, said: “We just couldn’t ignore the shocking statistic that a third of all African elephants have been wiped out in seven years.
“Rather than simply raise awareness, we wanted to raise funds that will go some way to combating the plight of poaching in Africa.”
How to sponsor
INDIVIDUAL DONATION
By giving £5 you will protect an elephant in the wild for a month. In return your personalised baby elephant will join #MarchforGiants bearing your name and chosen colour.
CORPORATE DONATION
A donation of £5,000 will protect an elephant in the wild for life. In return your adult elephant branded with your logo and chosen colour will be part of the March.
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