Greenpeace needed to visualize the worsening case of plastic pollution so we created a 73-foot decomposing blue whale on the shores of one of the most polluted cities in the country.

We used almost 160 kilos worth of plastic wastes collected from the ocean, and visualized a realistic dead whale with sprawling innards from its bloated underbelly, to catch the attention of locals within the area.

As we unveiled the dead whale, it immediately went viral online through a social post from one of the locals. It got picked up on social media because of its stark difference from other beached sea creatures—it’s big, brutal, and terrifying. Then when people realized it was made entirely of plastic wastes, people started talking about the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, and joined Greenpeace’s call to the ASEAN leaders to recognize the issue.

The ‘Dead Whale’ was mounted on a beach in one of the most polluted cities in the country. It was constructed secretly beside the shore for only 5 days with a team of 9 people.

The materials used were plastic wastes collected from the ocean--white sacks went to the underbelly and its textures, plastic straws and wires to bind the materials together, red sacks for the innards and blood effect, and PET bottles for the baleen teeth, amounting to over 160 kilos of plastic wastes and 73 feet in length.

The sculpture was then transferred to the shore and unveiled a few kilometers away from the ASEAN Leaders Summit.

Photos were posted on social media and immediately got picked up organically by local and international media outfits. Then it resulted to the recognition of ASEAN leaders in the summit.

Awareness was the main objective of the campaign which was fitting for the ASEAN Summit on Coastal and Marine Development that commenced in the Philippines.

With ZERO media spend, the campaign totaled 1.5 Billion impressions in over 100 countries. Top news sites covered the news: CNN Philippines, The Telegraph, People’s Daily China, and more.

News publications and channels: TV5 News PH, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ADN40 Mexico, ARTE 28 France, Nation TV Thailand, Vinhlong TV Vietnam, and more.

Most importantly, the issue was included in a proposal for the next ASEAN summit, just one day after the launch. (Source: “ASEAN elevates coastal, marine environment protection bid”, May 12, 2017, https://www.asean2017.ph/asean-elevates-coastal-marine-environment-protection-bid/)

The campaign played a big role in putting ocean more firmly on the agenda in 2017, triggering other campaigns such as Sky Ocean Plastics. Dead Whale positioned Greenpeace as a leader in the field as part of the #breakfreefromplastics campaign.

The Philippines is the third highest contributor of plastic wastes in the ocean, in the entire world. Already, the ocean is filled with 275 million tons of plastics. The cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean is predicted to increase by 2025. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish by 2050.

ASEAN countries, due to their lengthy coastlines and high plastic usage, are some of the primary sources of marine plastics globally and coincidentally, Philippines is the chair of the 2017 ASEAN Summit. Greenpeace wanted to take advantage of this opportune time to call on ASEAN members to take concrete measures against plastic pollution.

The “Dead Whale” was composed of minimal production fees estimated at $4,000, and zero media spend because it leveraged more on the virality and real-time activated response to a timely, relevant event which is the ASEAN Summit.