Glowing Glowing Gone

In the last 30 years, over half of the world’s coral reefs have already died—and it’s currently getting worse. These colorful species are more than just habitat; they are an entire ecosystem. They provide many benefits to sea creatures as well as for us humans. Aside from protecting our coastlines and supporting a quarter of all ocean life, they are also a source of medicine and livelihood. That is why Adobe, the Pantone Color Institute, and The Ocean Agency created Glowing Glowing Gone, an international campaign that encourages creatives to spread awareness and action towards saving coral reefs.

When the campaign was brought to Sir Saz’s attention by our former accounts executive Abi, he was immediately onboard. After all, it’s not everyday that we get the opportunity to try and save the world using art. After learning about Glowing Glowing Gone, Sir Saz called for a town hall meeting and invited everyone to join the campaign. To make things more interesting, he added a challenge by making it a mini pitch. Those who are interested can pitch their ideas, complete with execution concepts and plans. Whoever will be picked will serve as the creative lead of Itch’s official team for Glowing Glowing Gone. Challenge. Accepted.

Many took a shot and sent their suggestions to the initial team: a street installation, a collaboration with notable Filipino artists, a digital campaign on the wonders of the world, and more. After much deliberation, another town hall was made, and the winner was announced; the leadership core has decided to award the project to Lei! Her concept was simple yet striking: highlight the value of corals beyond its beauty. Corals are more than just decoration; they are a vital aspect of the marine ecosystem, and we are dedicated to spreading awareness towards their importance to the world.

After the announcement, a call for volunteers was made to create the official team that would work on the project. A total of 6 Itches joined the team: AJ for accounts, Dennish and Klei for art, Lei as the lead, and Kaye and Aira for copy.

Brainstorming was exciting, yet very challenging. We all had one question in mind: what kind of art can make people stop and think? From art installations to videos to music, everyone had great ideas to share. Finally, we decided to create two types of output: a digital image of a glowing coral, slowly losing color with fish skeleton at its base, and a video showing the dying process of corals and our hands symbolizing the effects of humanity’s irresponsible actions towards nature. This is accompanied with infographics and statistics showing why corals glow before getting bleached and how the Philippines is actually a part of the world’s Coral Triangle.

Creating the video was no easy task; we had no prior experience in creating sculptures which made it hard to identify what materials to use. We needed to make sure that the sculpture must look as realistic as possible, and that the paint accurately represents the glowing colors of a dying coral. Of course, since this is an environmental issue, we also needed to make sure that whatever we use must be as eco-friendly as possible, otherwise we would be counterproductive to our main cause.

With all these concerns adding up to our current list of deliverables, it became challenging to find time for canvassing. But, thankfully, after days of researching and interviewing artists, we found out that it’s actually possible to create the sculpture with these simple materials: flour, salt, and wires. That’s it! AJ, being an enthusiastic member of the team, immediately started practicing on the mold. Go AJ!

With a blacklight, camera, and black cartolina, three members of the team started painting on the artificial coral using their hands. Starting from the bottom, we worked our way to the top to simulate the glowing process of the corals. Finally, the video was edited to play in reverse to capture the dying process of the corals.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B19MwNkhvrX

As soon as the mini campaign was published on our Instagram page, many Itches and friends shared the posts on their stories. After awhile, our work got the attention of many, including the Pantone Color Institute, Adobe, and The Ocean Agency. In fact, they loved it so much that they decided to showcase our main art at the homepage of wetransfer.com! We made it, guys!

After this wonderful campaign, our commitment to helping the world through our creativity strengthened even more. This project proves that Itch is more than just an advertising agency; we are a group of passionate people who care.

When Art Saves Coral Reefs Through Glowing Glowing Gone

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