ASB MAGAZINE: Following a series of activations at the WSL Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach and the recently concluded “Corona Bali Pro-tected” Corona will take to the world stage for World Oceans Day on Friday 8th June, in a continued effort to raise awareness around the eight million metric tons of marine plastic pollution that’s dumped into our oceans each year. In partnership with 100 islands protected ambassador Chris Hemsworth, Corona is hijacking iconic symbols of paradise, including their OOH billboards in Melbourne, London, Santiago, Bogota, Santo Domingo and Lima.
At Federation Square, Melbourne, Corona’s ‘From Where You’d Rather Be’ OOH billboard featuring Chris Hemsworth surfing, will be juxtaposed by a 1,580kg ‘wave of waste’, to alert Aussies of the exact amount of plastic going into Australia’s ocean every hour. Over the course of Ocean’s Week, the brand will take plastic waste collected from in and around Melbourne and build them on top of the billboard, essentially polluting their own advertising with plastic. People can visit the site of the billboard to drop off their own plastic pollutants to be added to the plastic installation over the course of the week.
New research commissioned by Corona, reveals that three quarters of Australians (74%) underestimate or have no idea about how much plastic is entering Australia’s ocean but when confronted with the amount of plastic entering our waterways, the majority of Australians (89%) said they will make an effort to reduce their consumption of plastics.
Andy Vance, Marketing Manager, Corona Australia said: “Corona is on a mission to protect paradise and plastic pollution is the most visible issue affecting paradise today. Our ads usually showcase paradise the way we assume it to be, pristine and beautiful, but today it’s increasingly hard to find a beach without plastic. Through our work with Parley, we hope to reverse this trend. In the lead up to World Oceans Day, Corona wants to remind the world that we all need to protect our beaches to continue enjoying them by hijacking iconic symbols of paradise.”
Additionally, Corona have hijacked their own tagline ‘This Is Living’ With its idyllic beach imagery, a Corona ad could be considered a symbol of paradise itself. Corona will hijack its own campaign tagline and creative by switching from “This Is Living” to “This Is Living?” and replace the beautiful beach images with images of paradise polluted. As a voice for paradise, Corona is dedicating its most visible advertising and social media channels to the cause in order to help raise awareness globally.
Corona has an on-going commitment to clean-up efforts dating back almost a decade. The partnership with Parley announced last year brings even more impact by complementing clean-up efforts with education and local community engagement. Corona x Parley also announced a fundraising platform called Clean Waves in May that upcycles plastic pollution into fashion products for purchase, with all proceeds going to additional island protection.
For more information about marine plastic pollution and Corona and Parley’s commitment to protect islands around the world, visit 100IslandsProtected.com.
About Corona x Parley
In May 2017, Corona and Parley for the Oceans announced their alliance and made a commitment to protect 100 islands by 2020. The protection of 100 islands is made possible through the implementation of the Parley AIR Strategy: Avoid, Intercept, Redesign. The first year of the Corona x Parley partnership focused on working with local communities to “avoid” plastic use and “intercept” it from shorelines before it enters the ocean. With approximately eight million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean each year, it is of equal importance to “redesign” the uses, sources and systems behind plastic pollution, not only collect it.
The partnership has already had an impact in several regions around the world. Over 25 islands are now under protection in the Maldives with new islands in Australia, Chile, Dominican Republic and Indonesia to be announced. The project led to the first virgin-plastic free World Surf League (WSL) event in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa last July and most recently, resulted in a series of clean-ups down the cost of Chile led by big wave surfer and activist, Ramon Navarro.
For additional information on the partnership and 100 Islands Project, visit CoronaXParley.com
About Parley for the Oceans
Parley for the Oceans is the global network where creators, thinkers and leaders from the creative industries, brands, governments and environmental groups come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of the oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction. The organization has formed alliances with major corporations including adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev (Corona), Intel; the United Nations; the Maldives and collaborators spanning the worlds of science, art, fashion, design, entertainment, sports, and space and ocean exploration. To know more: www.parley.tv
