A campaign called “Sounds Right” for the Museum For The United Nations—UN Live and Spotify by AKQA Copenhagen won the Innovation Lions Grand Prix Thursday evening at the Cannes ad festival. 

The campaign introduced “Nature” (as in Mother Nature) as an official recording artist, turning music streams into conservation fundraising mechanisms.  

Artists released tracks featuring natural sounds like birdsong, ocean waves and rainforest ambiance and crediting “Nature” on the soundtracks. A portion of royalties from the tracks is funneled to conservation efforts, expected to total $500,000 by 2026.  

Participating artists include Hozier, Ellie Goulding, Aurora and others. Spotify features all of the artists on a playlist called “Feat. Nature,” and they can also be heard on other major music streaming platforms.  

The agency said the initiative was a collaboration among artists, nature sound libraries, producers, creatives and environmental groups. AKQA contributed creative strategy, visual identity, the launch campaign and was part of the initial concept development. Spotify helped amplify the campaign via out-of-home, social and in-app promotions. 

Innovation Jury President Courtney Brown Warren, CMO, Kickstarter, stated, “The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Sounds Right’ because it tackles nature conservation with creativity and a simple, yet innovative approach to shifting a cultural mindset. It’s an initiative with global scale [and] long-term impact.”