VIETNAM, January 28, 2019—Every year, over 1,000 rhinos, 33,000 elephants, and 100,000 pangolins are poached for their horns, tusks, scales, and meat due to unfounded rumors. Such practices have pushed these invaluable species to the brink of extinction.
Last January 28, the Life Release Day (Tsethar) in Lunar calendar, also known for the day of traditional Buddhist practise of saving living beings that were destined for slaughter, WildAid, in collaboration with Change Vietnam and Dinosaur Vietnam, launched the #BeTheirBodhisattva campaign.
The purpose of the campaign is to raise the awareness among the public about the cruel act behind wild life’s products that they have been profusely believed in by Vietnamese for its so-called magical health properties.
The poignant three wild animal statutes feature real life sufferings in which they have been tormented: a rhino with its horn cut-off, a mom and baby pangolin with scales peeled off and an elephant with broken tusks, all kneeling down in praying position in front of Buddha statue in Vinh Nghiem Pagoda – one of the biggest pagodas in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
Following the spirit of Life Release Day and Righteousness during the Lunar New Year, when most Vietnamese people would sincerely look up to and pray Buddha for protection and a peaceful life, we want to show that these endangered animals also share the same strong desire, by simply letting them pray in front of Buddha just like every normal human.
The installation acts as a wake-up call for people to listen, understand and become those animals’ saviors by simply stop consuming wildlife products. Because when the buying stop, the killing can too.
These statues will be placed at Minh Dang Quang Buddhist Institute in HCMC (From January 30 to February 12) Khanh An Monastery in HCMC (February 12 – 18 and February 28 – March 3) North Tay Thien Pagoda in Vinh Phuc Province in the North will also host these statues on February 22-24, before they return to Vinh Nghiem Pagoda on March 5 and stay there until the campaign ends on March 10.
Credits:
Client: WildAid x Change Vietnam
Agency: Dinosaur Vietnam
Board Director: Brandy Vu
Executive Creative Director: Sumesh Peringeth
Creative Director: Trong Nguyen
Copywriters: Thanh Ngo, Trang Ha
Art Director: Ly Le
Senior Designer: Chi Vo
Junior Designer: Thai Le
Junior Copywriter: Quynh Tran
Producer: Adrian Nguyen, Huyen Vo
Account Manager: Lam Nguyen
Account Executive: Tri Tran
CG: Quoc Le, Nguyen Tran
Photographer: Tien An
Video Production: Kiet Nguyen, Tien Lee
Artist: Phan Vu Linh – CineMagic Studio
About WILDAID
While most wildlife conservation groups focus on scientific studies and anti-poaching efforts, WildAid works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts. We also work with governments and partners to protect fragile marine reserves from illegal fishing and shark finning, to enhance public and political will for anti-poaching efforts, and to reduce climate change impacts.
About CHANGE VIETNAM
Officially founded in 2013 by the first Vietnamese to set foot on Antarctica, CHANGE is an incredibly active environmental non-profit organization based in Ho Chi Minh City. CHANGE promotes and encourages the care and preservation of the environment through education and innovative communications that change habits and inspire community action in Vietnam.
For wildlife campaigns, CHANGE partners with the international WILDAID to reduce the demand for key wildlife products in Vietnam: the rhino horns, pangolins and ivory.
About DINOSAUR VIETNAM
Dinosaur Vietnam is an independent creative agency based in Ho Chi Minh City that provides impactful campaigns for international and local brands.
