• by Larissa Faw , August 27, 2018

David&Goliath (D&G) is lending its talents pro bono to support the U.S. Forest Service's (USFS) new Ad Council campaign that encourages parents of tweens to visit its parks.

The centerpiece of the project is the :60 "Discover the Unsearchable" spot where a daughter asks her smartphone about trees before her father takes her into nature, while she continues posing questions like whether clouds take naps or if birds can draw pictures.

“Technology has given our children so many opportunities for education and exploration,” says Lisa Sherman, president and CEO, Ad Council. “But we hope this campaign will remind families of the bonds and memories that can be forged when we put down our phones and discover all that nature has to offer.

D&G has also created radio, out of home, digital and social assets that drive audiences to DiscoverTheForest.org, where they can search for forests and parks near them. 

In addition to the work produced with D&G, Pinterest, separately, is creating custom, trails-focused content for the Discover the Forest Pinterest channel and is supporting the campaign via donated media on the platform. 

And the Geocaching community is independently launching its own Discover the Forest game  with 1,500 limited-edition Discover the Forest trackable game pieces.  Those living in the U.S. can register to receive one at Geocaching.com/DiscovertheForest through August 28, 2018. Each game piece has a unique tracking number engraved on it and will travel throughout the game once it’s released by the owner. The game pieces serve as a reminder to those who cross their path of the 158,000 miles of trails waiting to be explored throughout the U.S. park system.

This is the first time D&G has developed creative on behalf of the Discover the Forest campaign that was first introduced by the USFS in partnership with the Ad Council in 2009. The organization has been happy with the results. In the past year, there have been nearly 170,600 searches for forests or parks on DiscovertheForest.org, and more than 60% of parents surveyed recognize a Discover the Forest ad. The campaign has earned more than $369.7 million in total donated media support since the original launch.