The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the SAWA Global Cinema Advertising Association today launched an eight-week international cinema advertising and social media campaign to raise awareness of the climate emergency and spur urgent action. bigger to deal with it.
In the 60-second cinematic ad, Frankie, a computer-generated dinosaur, is seen bursting into the United Nations General Assembly, seizing his iconic podium and urging stunned-looking dignitaries to avoid the fate of dinosaurs – extinction – by making changes to fight the climate crisis.
At the red carpet launch of the film’s theatrical release, some of the leading voices and campaign partners will be presented with UNDP’s inaugural “Frankie” award for moving the needle on climate action during a exclusive event on May 11 at the Times Center in New York with an awards ceremony, live orchestra and screening of short films. The honor will be awarded to two organizations and one individual.
SAWA and Global Cinema Medium’s will receive the award in honor of their extensive efforts to screen the 60-second spot in 30 countries during a two-month campaign. The cinema advertisement, produced in 15 languages, was mastered and distributed by UniqueX in the UK.
Presenting in the advertisement the role of the French voice of Frankie the dinosaur, the French actress of Senegalese origin Aïssa Maïga (“Mood Indigo”, “Paris je t’aime”, “The Court”) will be rewarded during the event for using his platform and creativity to raise awareness and mobilize support for climate action.
Other members of the arts and entertainment industry attending the event include American actor and producer Aasif Mandvi (“Evil”, “Would I Lie to You”) and Nigerian actress Folake Olowofoyeku (“Bob Hearts Abishola”).
The “Frankie” award was inspired by the commercial’s namesake animated Utahraptor, the first computer-generated character to appear inside the iconic General Assembly building. The ad is the centerpiece of UNDP’s “Don’t Choose Extinction” campaign, which has reached an audience of 1.5 billion people and garnered 3,000 media mentions. The original short was voiced in 39 languages and features famous actors from around the world, including Jack Black (English), Eiza González (Spanish), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Danish) and Aïssa Maïga (French). It has been translated into over 60 languages.
“While global cinema advertising is entertaining, it addresses issues that couldn’t be more serious,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. “It urges countries to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, which harm the environment in ways that threaten our very existence. UNDP is deeply grateful to SAWA and the media outlet Global Cinema for their commitment to the climate action and their generous support for sharing this film in theaters in 30 countries around the world.”
“Since 2015, the Global Cinema Medium has partnered with the United Nations to advance its Sustainable Development Goals. Again in 2022, although cinema has been one of the hardest hit industries during the pandemic, our Global Cinema ad companies are committed to supporting this campaign on climate change, seen as one of the most pressing challenges of our time,” said SAWA CEO Cheryl Wannell. and Gen Xers put climate action at the top of the list for themselves and the brands they use. They are among the hardest-to-reach demographics and comprise the mainstream movie audience.”
“I am truly honored to be one of UNDP’s inaugural Frankie Award recipients and congratulate the other SAWA and Global Cinema Medium winners. Climate change disproportionately affects those living in poverty, who suffer the most most devastating effects of droughts, floods and too many other disasters,” said actress Aïssa Maïga. “I’m proud to lend my voice to Frankie in the Don’t Choose Extinction campaign ad, as she advocates for green and fair solutions that leave no one behind.”
“Fossil fuel subsidies contribute to climate change and growing inequality around the world. But there is not enough awareness or global understanding around this issue. The theatrical release of the Don’t Choose Extinction campaign hopes change all of that by using creativity to inform and inspire millions of moviegoers around the world to take action,” said Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Danish voice of Frankie the Dinosaur.
