LENS: WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION
This creative and experimental video shows what happens when children are confronted with the idea of insensitive and unsustainable factory farming. The simple and unscripted interview style clips make for an authentic and emotive campaign highlighting the relationship between factory farming and climate change.
International non-profit animal rights organisation, World Animal Protection, devised a video campaign to highlight the impact of inhumane farming practices through the eyes of children. It created ‘the worst toy in the world’ with the first ever hyper-real Factory Farm Playset, which shows animals in cramped and unnatural living conditions.
Lindsay Duncan, UK campaigns manager for farming at World Animal Protection, says, “While 5 or 6-year-olds may not have a grasp on politics, diplomacy and the global issues being discussed at COP26, they have a clear sense of right and wrong and the need to make changes. The outcome is inspiring, and we can all learn something from it to help protect the planet for future generations. We, the ‘grown-ups’, have to change our ways and quickly.”
The experiment shows four British children being given the farm playset and encouraged to share their thoughts aloud. The unprompted and honest reactions from the children asks the audience ‘If children can see that factory farming doesn’t make sense, why can’t we?’
Facts are shown on screen throughout the video to support the children’s commentary. In one example the text reads, ‘Over 70% of the UK’s farmland animals live on factory farms’ and ‘Many of the world’s natural habitats are being destroyed to grow feed for these animals.’
Despite being a non-profit organisation working to protect animals, the campaign relates the brand back to the current topic of COP26 as the meat and dairy industry is one of the biggest contributors to global warming. The video explains how agriculture is projected to produce 52% of greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.
The campaign works to raise awareness of these statistics with external audiences and encourage people to reduce their meat intake and help minimise climate change. It ends with a message of hope that ‘there is always time to make a change’ and ‘eating less meat and dairy will drastically reduce emissions and help protect the planet for future generations.’
The video then shows all four children as they work together to change the toy factory farm and introduce different elements ‘to make the animals happy’ such as rural green spaces and natural light.
The campaign is supported with the hashtag #SayYesToLess.
World Animal Protection_ The Factory Farm Playset.mp4 from Cow on Vimeo.
