The Penguin Run

Since the turn of the 20th century, we’ve lost 99% of the African Penguin population due to habitat loss, imbalanced ecosystems and competition for the fish they rely on. Our client BirdLife South Africa, who hosts the annual Save Our Seabirds Festival, had a simple brief. Highlight the plight of the African Penguin during the seven-day Festival.

The idea? To hold the world’s first penguin race using live satellite tracking. Following the exploits of five penguins, each with a different personality and tone of voice, people were encouraged to support their ‘home-bird’ via Twitter (seemed the most appropriate platform) and were given constant race updates from the birds as well as educational content featuring postcard style fun-facts about penguins.

Art Direction: James Atkins

Graphic Design: James Atkins, Tamara Isles, Laura Alcock

Copywriting: Carl Cardinelli, Amy Donaldson