Leo
Burnett Melbourne has defended its Fin for a Fin project
as a “legitimate product”, following queries
into the validity of the product after it was revealed
it has been entered into Cannes Lions this year.
The
project, designed in collaboration with Glide Fins,
aims to save sharks from slaughter with a specially
marked surf board fins that alert authorities to surfer’s
wishes in the wake of an attack.
The
campaign has been called into question due to the
project not being linked to a paying client and the
timing of its release looking somewhat opportunistic.
With Cannes Lions only a few weeks away, concerns
were raised to AdNews the project could be seen as
a scam entry not a genuine product.
Leo
Burnett Melbourne chief creative officer Jason Williams
strongly refuted the work was scam, adding the project
is legitimate and available for purchase.
“It
is the prerogative of the industry to question legitimate
projects, but Fin for a Fin will make a real difference
to a polarising problem and will survive long after
Cannes," Williams says.
“Leo
Burnett has integrity, this is real and a legitimate
global initiative.”
Scam
work at Cannes has tainted the creative industry year
after year. Last year Grey Singapore was forced to
pull a fake app and return its Bronze Lion. BBDO Brazil
also gave back its Gold Lion after it emerged work
for Bayer never ran.
The Fin for a Fin product was developed by Leos senior
creative and avid surfer Alex Metson, who would like
to see the campaign put an end to the eye-for-an-eye
mentality people have in killing sharks involved in
attacks.
So
far, according to its website, it has raised nearly
$5000. The campaign has a goal to raise $40,000.
“It’s
a project that doesn’t have a lot of money behind
it so we are just building a base of surfers and trying
to get the awareness through the surf community and
coverage in the press,” Metson tells AdNews.
He
says a handful of retailers have already reachout
to stock the product across Australia, adding that
he hopes the project will go global with Hawaiian
retailers also getting in touch to stock the fins.
“Getting
the authorities on board is the big question. We are
aiming to have the fins have real influence, but we
can’t force authorities to do anything. It’s
not legally binding but we hope by making it very
clear, authorities would take serious consideration,
like an organ donor with a driver’s license,”
Metson says.
To
launch the Fins, Leo Burnett has tapped shark attack
survivor Mike Coots, who lost his leg to a shark attack
when he was 18, to front the campaign.
In
the two minute spot he says: “If we kill sharks,
we’re killing the oceans, we’re killing
ourselves.”
Profits
from the high-performance fins will go toward protecting
both sharks and surfers, by funding shark alert network,
Dorsal, and shark education and research charity,
Tag For Life.
Fin
for Fin is also developing a global registry that
records the surfer’s wishes, letting next of
kin and authorities know they want the shark protected.
The
project follows several other shark safety campaigns
launched by creative agencies, including the renowned
Clever Buoy from M&C Saatchi and also the Pocket
Patrol app from Leo Burnett Sydney.
M&C
Saatchi’s Clever Buoy took out one of the rare
Titanium Lions in 2015 at Cannes Lions. It has since
floated on the ASX as Shark Mitigation Systems.
