• by Larissa Faw , September 1, 2015

Forests are disappearing at the rate of 20 football fields every second and agriculture is the leading cause of this deforestation. Now, in advance of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris in December, Unilever is launching a multifaceted advocacy campaign to raise awareness over how deforestation is connected to global warming. 

Unilever along with WPP's David Buenos Aires and Ogilvy & Mather London (O&M) are releasing "Farewell To The Forest," a public service message that aims to bring what is perceived to be a distant problem into people’s everyday lives. The concept shows a tree sadly walking on the sidewalk among skyscrapers to say that a tree may be safer in the city than in the rainforest. The spot can be seen here. 

This video serves as a call-to-action to support Unilever's broader campaign BrightFuture that "creates a better future for our children." It's an international effort focusing in the United Kingdom, United States, South America, Brazil and Indonesia. The concept originally debuted in 2013 when David Buenos Aires and O&M collaborated to create the first communication campaign for Unilever Global brand, "Why bring a child into this world?"

In 2014, the effort extended into specific, local points of action and finally, in 2015, they decided to highlight an issue that they felt was very distant to people: climate change and deforestation. 

A microsite invites visitors to show their support for the cause by signing a pledge and to learn about various ways they can give back to their communities.

As part of this project, Unilever is partnering with the World Wildlife Federation to help protect one million trees in two of the most threatened forest areas in the world, Brazil and Indonesia. 

This campaign lives entirely online and illustrates Unilever's pivot toward digital advertising. The company's digital advertising was up 17% in the first six months of the year and now constitutes 20% of its total advertising spend. Last year, Unilever spent around $7.6 billion to advertise its portfolio of brands including Dove, Ben & Jerry's, Lipton, Dove and Suave.  

The campaign complements Unilever’s wider plan to source 100% of its agricultural raw materials for sustainability and halve the environmental footprint of the making and use of its products by 2020.