Emotive celebrated the launch of Deep Rising—a global impact campaign to protect the deep ocean and stop deep-sea mining— at the Coogee SLSC on Wednesday, capping off a stellar year for the agency, with standout new business wins and its most ambitious creative work yet.
The event, attended by 200 VIPs, media, and special guests, featured an engaging panel unpacking the dangers of deep sea mining, with Laura Clarke (head of impact and co-executive producer of Deep Rising), Adrian ‘Ace’ Buchan (former world tour surfer and BBC Green Sport Awards Evergreen Athlete), Michael Hogg, CSO, Emotive and Josh Kirkman (CEO, Surfers for Climate), alongside live performances from 2 x Aria award winning Lime Cordiale and instrumentalist Jake Meadows.
The World’s Largest Ocean Dispute campaign, inspired by the award-winning documentary Deep Rising, empowers individuals to take action in safeguarding the deep seabed, which faces imminent threats from destructive mining.
Through a blockchain-powered platform, people can directly engage by claiming a personalised Birthright Certificate, each linked to their own unique set of GPS coordinates mapped across the seabed at risk. With certificates available in over 90 languages, the campaign ensures inclusivity and accessibility, enabling people worldwide to participate.
This innovative initiative sends a compelling message to policymakers, urging them to prioritise the protection of our shared ocean for the well-being of future generations.
To highlight the importance of this campaign, President Surangel Whipps Jr. of Palau—a small island nation and a large ocean state, recognised globally for its leadership in sustainability and ocean conservation—delivered a powerful video message to guests at the event, urging immediate action on the protection of the deep seabed.
Simon Joyce
In his address, President Whipps emphasised the critical risks our ocean faces and the urgent need for collective efforts to protect it from further harm. He framed the Deep Rising campaign as a meaningful opportunity for individuals worldwide to raise their voices and unite to take a stand in the fight to protect our seabed.
Since its global launch, the campaign, which is headlined via a feature-length documentary narrated by Jason Momoa has garnered remarkable traction, with thousands of people reclaiming the deep seabed on behalf of humanity and future generations at deeprising.com. Crucially, the media industry has rallied to support the cause, with over $2M already committed by partners such as Nine, ARN, JCDecaux, and Mamamia – and an incredible incremental $1M of support committed in the last 20 days.
“We’re proud to support bringing awareness to Deep Rising — a compelling campaign that not only captivates with its stunning storytelling but also underscores the urgent need for environmental stewardship,” Liana Dubois, chief marketing officer at Nine, said.
Simon Joyce, Laura Clarke, Liana Dubois, Adrian ‘Ace’ Buchan, Josh Kirkman
“Our aim is to spark conversations, challenge perspectives, inform and entertain audiences, aligning with our purpose in shaping culture. Deep Rising uses the influence of creative storytelling to spark conversation on a critical human necessity.”
Lauren Joyce, chief strategy and connections officer, ARN added: “One of our core values at ARN is ‘make a difference’ and joining this campaign allows us to do just that. We’re proud to play a small part in generating support for the ocean that is integral to the wellbeing of so many of our people and our audiences.”
CEO of Mamamia, Natalie Harvey, said: “Mamamia’s purpose is to make the world a better place for women and girls and of course that includes the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Australians have a deep love of the Pacific so we wanted to help the campaign by creating awareness and driving action with our very passionate and engaged audience.”
“As lead creative agency, Emotive, on a pro-bono basis, has driven the strategy, crafted campaign assets, designed the campaign hub, deeprising.com and secured global media partners.”
Michael Hogg, managing partner and chief strategy officer, explained: “Emotive’s purpose is to create ideas that change the way people feel and we need to change how people feel about deep sea mining if we’re going to prevent the biggest mining site on earth being created under the Pacific Ocean, and an ecological catastrophe that won’t just impact us, but future generations.”
“This is an epic and unforgettable campaign,” Simon Joyce, CEO of Emotive. “It’s been a privilege for Emotive to join forces with Deep Rising and use the power of creativity for good on a global scale, as we seek to safeguard the ocean. A heartfelt thanks to our incredible media partners for their support.
“However, the journey is far from complete. We call upon the marketing industry to continue this vital support by donating media resources, ensuring we can halt this ecological disaster before it starts.”
Lime Cordiale
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Top image: Alexandra Heaven, Tom Sandow, Simon Joyce, Laura Clarke, Kristian Ilioski, Natalie Harvey, Josh Kirkman