ADC Awards
ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Learn more about ADC105
You have exceeded your allotted number of views.
For full access to our extensive awards archive
Members Login Here
For full access to our extensive awards archive
Members Login Here
Category
Television / Film / Online Video / Low Budget
Annual ID
ADC_ADV21_061B
About the Work
According to the World Economic Forum, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the year 2050. Luckily, the United Nations exists. And they asked us to help raise awareness of Global Goal 14: Life Below Water, the UN’s sustainable-development goal—one of seventeen—that’s entirely devoted to protecting the ocean. They gave us a budget of $100K and asked us to target Millennials, 72 percent of whom are already suffering from “eco-anxiety.”
Thanks to groundbreaking nature documentaries like The Blue Planet and March of the Penguins, the Millennial generation grew up with a unique appreciation of and love for the ocean. Now that the ocean is dying, we decided to flip the script and create a nature documentary that might actually help them save it.
Although our budget wasn’t exactly Spielberg level, we were able to convince Morgan Freeman, the legendary narrator of March of the Penguins, and Chris Bryan, one of the visionary cinematographers for Blue Planet II, to help us out. Together we were able to combine compassionate, down-to-earth storytelling with awe-inspiring, never-before-seen visuals, successfully transplanting the magic of nature documentaries into a two-minute short film for the United Nations. In doing so, we contextualized the overwhelming threat of plastic pollution and presented it to our eco-anxious audience in a format that was familiar, engaging and, ultimately, welcome by them.
Although the film was originally created to premiere at Tribeca and Cannes, it also found success on YouTube, where it led to a 9.3 percent lift in consideration for Global Goal 14—a best-in-class achievement according to YouTube. After a successful run online, Life Below Water made it to the 2020 General Assembly, where it was presented to some of the most powerful world leaders.
Thanks to groundbreaking nature documentaries like The Blue Planet and March of the Penguins, the Millennial generation grew up with a unique appreciation of and love for the ocean. Now that the ocean is dying, we decided to flip the script and create a nature documentary that might actually help them save it.
Although our budget wasn’t exactly Spielberg level, we were able to convince Morgan Freeman, the legendary narrator of March of the Penguins, and Chris Bryan, one of the visionary cinematographers for Blue Planet II, to help us out. Together we were able to combine compassionate, down-to-earth storytelling with awe-inspiring, never-before-seen visuals, successfully transplanting the magic of nature documentaries into a two-minute short film for the United Nations. In doing so, we contextualized the overwhelming threat of plastic pollution and presented it to our eco-anxious audience in a format that was familiar, engaging and, ultimately, welcome by them.
Although the film was originally created to premiere at Tribeca and Cannes, it also found success on YouTube, where it led to a 9.3 percent lift in consideration for Global Goal 14—a best-in-class achievement according to YouTube. After a successful run online, Life Below Water made it to the 2020 General Assembly, where it was presented to some of the most powerful world leaders.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 9
Bronze Cube
Credits
Agency
Goodby Silverstein & Partners / San Francisco
Art Director
Eleanor Rask
Chief Creative Officer
Margaret Johnson
Composer
Jonathan Elias
Creative Director
Hanna Wittmark
Kate Baynham
Mike Landry
Design Director
Ryan Self
Designer
Benny Gold
Director
Brian Schulz
Director of Photography
Chris Bryan
Executive Producer
Kim Christensen
Matthew Mills
Melanie Paul
Patrick Nugent
Thatcher Peterson
Sound Designer
Joel Waters
Writer
Trevor Joplin
Assistant Editor
Chang Wang
Liz Norris
Brand Strategist
Darien Ahn
Senior Communications Strategist
Jacob Sperla
Account Manager
Emily Bollier
Agency Director of Film & Music Curation
Tod Puckett
CG Artist
Aemilia Widodo
Ariana Ziae-Mohseni
Joe Paniagua
Josh Dyer
Michael Bettinardi
CG Supervisor
Andrew Romatz
Co-Chairman
Jeff Goodby
Rich Silverstein
Colorist
Gregory Reese
Creative Partnership Lead
Paul Eyers
Creative Partnerships Lead
Jeff Blankstein
Paula Castro
Director of Business Affairs
Judy Ybarra
Director of Elevel
Michael Damiani
Diving Services Coordinator
Giovanni Gonzalez
Robbie Gonzalez
Flame Artist
John Valle
Kevin Stokes
Head of Broadcast Production
Leila Gage
Managing Director
Jennifer Sofio Hall
Managing Partner
Leslie Barrett
Motion Artist
Luke Davisson
Partner, Head of Brand Strategy
Bonnie Wan
Partner, Head of Communications Strategy
Christine Chen
Partnerships Lead, Sustainable Development Goals
Frances Simpson-Allen
Post Producer
Allison Lambert
Post Production Supervisor
Marni Ellis
Product Marketing Manager
Danielle Landress
Olivia Jovais
Production Assistant
Allie Fuller
Production Manager
Ellie Cano
Safety Diver
Chuck
Daniel Alamilla
Felipe Ancona
Senior Color Producer
Jenny Bright
Technical Director
Nathan Shipley
VFX Producer
Drew Rissman
VFX Supervisor
Jesse Monsour
VP, Production
Nina Chaundry
Related Awards
