Sports Direct has teamed up with creative agency Cult to create a carbon-neutral ad in support of The Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
The sporting goods retailer intends to ‘bring to life’ the company’s mission to help the declining bumblebee population by creating a TV commercial using only recycled footage.
“As the agency moves towards its B Corp status, Cult’s creative team showed consumers the importance of supporting the plight of the bumblebees, and Sports Direct’s commitment to make a change,” read a statement from Sports Direct.
The sustainable production process also included Joanna Lumley who produced the voice-over for the ad in light of her vocal campaigning and stance on climate change.
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As part of the promotion, customers will receive free seeded paper with every Sports Direct mug or bag bought throughout the spring.
The eco-friendly gift is made from post-consumer materials which germinate when planted, making attractive plants for British bumblebees.
“We are proud to be supporting carbon-neutral productions as a standard practice in 2022,” said Cult’s executive producer Jose Sel de Felipe.
“The footprint for all of our productions are measured and offset at the end of each project.
“For #SaveTheBumbleBees, we ensured we kept to minimal emissions by re-purposing all of the assets used in the TV commercial.”
Cult designed the campaign to encourage Brits to support The Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
“Bumblebees do an amazing job pollinating our crops, garden and wildflowers and our goal is to help them survive and thrive,” said The Bumblebee Conservation Trust CEO Gill Perkins.
“By championing these furry flying ‘ping-pong balls,’ with this campaign, Sports Direct is helping to increase bumblebee-friendly flowers to feed from and create a ‘buzz’ across the UK by raising awareness of the importance of bumblebees. That is a winning team in my playbook.”
To reach a carbon-neutral outcome, Cult and Sports Direct partnered with Getty Images to take them “through the sustainability journey” as well. All internal and external crew power supply was checked and calculated, with priority given to those who run on green energy versus standard fossil fuels.
Any unavoidable emissions were offset at the end of the production.
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