TBWA Melbourne and Adelaide contribute to the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals boats for Greta Thunberg
The teams from TBWA Melbourne and Adelaide partnered with creative agencies from around the world to design the sails of 17 boats that represent each of the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals.
The announcement:
TBWA creates SDG Flotilla welcoming Greta Thunberg into New York City ahead of global Climate Action Summit
Global creative agency TBWA joined forces with the United Nations and other partners to welcome Swedish climate change activist and noble prize nominee Greta Thunberg, 16, to New York City ahead of the Climate Change Action Summit in September.
Thunberg’s sailboat was greeted and escorted into New York by 17 sailboats, each representing one of the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) featured on its sail. The SDGs were agreed to by all Member States of the United Nations in 2015 as global blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet. Now and into the future.
The SDG Flotilla met Thunberg at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and sailed alongside the Malizia II to North Cove Harbor in honour of her quest to raise awareness and support for Climate Action, as well as the other 16 Goals. In acknowledgement of the welcoming fleet Greta Thunberg tweeted; “The UN has sent out one boat for each of the 17 sustainable development goal to greet us! Thank you!”
In the spirit of SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals; TBWA\Melbourne partnered with many across the global creative community to bring the project to life, including Project Everyone, Freuds and Sinclair Social, who all rallied to galvanise around this moment, with support from TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. UK Sailmakers, Portchester, NY and GT3 Creative created the custom sails.
Kimberlee Wells, CEO, TBWA\Melbourne and Adelaide said: “Greta Thunberg’s passion and promise to fight climate change presented a powerful platform to create further awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals, as we move closer to the 2030 deadline. Whilst progress has been made, few countries are on track to achieve the targets. Australia and America included.”
Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\Melbourne and Adelaide, Paul Reardon added: “The Sustainable Development Goals logo is printed on the main sail of Greta’s ship. Yet many people still don’t have a full understanding of the goals and the issues they cover. There were a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction from Greta, the team onboard the Malizia II and the broader sailing community. It’s been a truly global effort – spanning Melbourne, New York, San Francisco, Rome, London and of course The Atlantic.”
The Flotilla is led by Captain Nitzan Levy of Sailors NYC and Deputy Captain Barbara Marcoz, U.N. employee and member of North Cove Sailing Club. It comprised 17 vessels provided by local New York City sailing clubs including North Cove Sailing, Hudson River Community Sailing, Hoboken Sailing Club, Sailors NYC and New City Kids. The Flotilla will be streamed live across Facebook and activated across numerous social media channels using #sdgflotilla. Digital advertising supporting each of the SDG’s will also roll out across numerous sites in the lead up to the UNGA high level week, kicking off on 23 September.
In a further display of partnership with the United Nations, TBWA\ Melbourne & Adelaide’s chief executive officer, Kimberlee Wells and her creative partner, chief creative officer, Paul Reardon have been invited to speak at the SDG Action Zone, part of United Nations General Assembly, on ‘Connecting the world’s brands with the world’s Goals’.
Source: TBWA media release
