Earth Day campaigns that have raised awareness & inspired action

Earth Day campaigns that have raised awareness & inspired action

The air in cities like Mumbai often feels heavy, a tangible reminder of the pressure on our planet. Globally, the story darkens: vital rainforests vanish at the alarming rate of nearly 1000 football fields every minute, finite resources are relentlessly exploited, and catastrophic wildfires, like the recent Palisades fire that devastated parts of California, signal fraying ecosystems.

The very breathability of our urban homes is threatened. Earth Day arrives each April 22nd less as a gentle celebration, more as an urgent siren call amidst this escalating crisis, reminding us our planetary life support is failing. In this fight for awareness, advertising becomes a crucial instrument. Beyond selling products, powerful campaigns wield creativity to slice through apathy, broadcasting truths and igniting change. They are vital messages amplified globally, pushing us to act before it’s truly too late.

In the campaigns over the years that we look at, Greenpeace Brazil's 'What Planet is This?' campaign, launched for Earth Day 2025 with Beta Collective, delivers a stark environmental message. It uses visually arresting, authentic drone photography of climate-ravaged Brazilian landscapes deliberately styled to evoke desolate scenes from other planets, powerfully highlighting that this shocking destruction is happening now, on Earth.

This urgent call contrasts with other campaigns, such as Honda's 'Vertical Bike' campaign from Earth Day 2022. Created with Ogilvy Perú to tackle deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon caused by felling extremely tall palm trees for the valuable aguaje fruit, Honda developed a unique, lightweight motorized device. This 'Vertical Bike' allowed harvesters to quickly and safely climb the 35-meter trees, offering a practical, technological solution that prevented deforestation, preserved the ecosystem, and supported local indigenous communities like the Parinaris through applied innovation. Both campaigns powerfully demonstrate advertising's crucial role in addressing the environmental crisis.

Let's take a look at some standout campaigns from recent years, featuring impactful examples from both the global stage and right here in India.