How a song saved a species

By the late 60's, commercial whale hunting, on a colossal scale, had caused the whale population to fall by an estimated 90% from what it used to be in the XIX century. Bringing many species to the brink of extinction.

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In 1967, the environmentalist Roger Payne, and his team, made the first recording ever of a humpback whale “singing”. They were amazed to discover that the sounds he captured  weren’t random, but followed the pattern, just like music, sung by these majestic animals. ​

 

We were commissioned by the Palma Aquarium - which does not house any mammals - to design an entire exhibition dedicated to whales. In this context, we were able to deepen our knowledge of the issues surrounding the seas and oceans.

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In this context, we learned about the incredible history of the album resulting from these recordings, entitled “Songs of the Humpback Whale”, which is still today the best-selling nature album of all time. Its massive distribution by National Geographic magazine has been instrumental in mobilizing people worldwide around the Save The Whales movement.

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We found this story so inspiring that we decided to produce a short narrative film to inspire as many people as possible by presenting a concrete case of mobilization that led to the signing of a moratorium by members of the United Nations. A few years later, this brutal practice was banned worldwide.

 

With the exception of a few minority countries, this agreement is respected by the majority of countries. This has saved some whale populations from extinction, although many species are still endangered.​

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What we did:

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Protecting the oceans is particularly close to our hearts. And environmental victories are all too rare. When we heard about this incredible story, we felt an urge to bring it to light. As this is an in-house production, we conceptualized the video campaign from A to Z, from writing the script to broadcasting it.

 

We took numerous communications actions to publicize the story, publishing the short film massively on social networks, and sending it to numerous festivals dedicated to the environmental challenges of the seas and oceans.

The video and related communications have been translated into 3 languages (+ 7 subtitles for the video), and sent to some 50 festivals around the world, for 32 selections. It was a semi-finalist 3 times, a finalist 2 times, and received 4 awards in the Best Animation category.

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More information about Roger Payne 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Payne

More information about Song of the humpback whales  

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_the_Humpback_Whale_(album)

Roger Payne's NGO | Ocean Alliance Conservation 

whale.org/