Ocean Bottle Makes Waves with First TV Ad Campaign

The social impact brand turning the tide on ocean-bound plastic makes its TV debut as a 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund finalist

Sky Media, the advertising arm of Sky, has today announced that 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund finalist, Ocean Bottle, is making its TV debut supporting its mission to save our ocean. The new campaign tells us that by 2050, plastic is expected to outweigh all fish in the ocean, and now, more than ever, it’s time for change.

Ocean Bottle impressed judges last year with its sustainability credentials and potential impact, securing £250,000 in media value for its national TV campaign. Each Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles in weight. Collectors exchange plastic for money and get access to social resources such as healthcare, education and financial security. So far, Ocean Bottle has collected 14,164,500 kilograms of plastic via its partners: grassroots organisations in coastal communities in countries such as Indonesia, India and Ghana – the equivalent to 1 billion plastic bottles in weight.

Ocean Bottle’s TV campaign will air across a mix of Sky Media’s Linear and Video On Demand (VOD) platforms. The campaign will use Sky Media’s Performance Solution team to optimise delivery in real-time to maximise response. The VOD activity aims to drive brand awareness through the ‘Must See VOD’ package, featuring a wide range of Sky’s premium content. The first wave of the campaign will run until 11th July 2024 and marks the brand’s TV debut.

The 30” advert aims to spread the Ocean Bottle message and connect viewers to the plastic-pollution crisis by depicting a strange yet dystopian world where plastic replaces fish. Scenes show a girl winning a plastic bottle in a bag of water at the funfair, a woman picking which plastic bottle she’d like at the fish counter in a supermarket, and a man serving a battered plastic bottle at the fish and chip shop. The campaign’s message is clear: Buy 1, Rescue 1,000 – with an Ocean Bottle anyone can directly contribute to protecting the health of our ocean.

The creative was crafted and produced in partnership with Hatch London and follows best practice advice and recommendations from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen programme.

Will Pearson, CEO and Co-Founder at Ocean Bottle said: “Ocean Bottle was created to give people an easy way to contribute, have an impact, and make a difference when it comes to protecting our ocean. We’re so proud to be one of Sky Zero’s Footprint Fund finalists to spread this message further and empower more individuals to drive positive change. With Sky Zero’s backing, we’ve been able to create a truly impactful campaign that we hope will get even more people hydrated while helping the ocean at the same time.”

Mark Gibson, Managing Director at Hatch London, commented: “Ocean Bottle and Sky are at the very forefront of companies making a real difference towards Net Zero. We’re honoured that the collective team at Hatch has been chosen as the creative partner for the campaign. We look forward to continuing the journey with these outstanding clients.”

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, added: “The Footprint Fund celebrates brands that make sustainability accessible and impactful. Ocean Bottle’s innovative and thought-provoking campaign does just that. We are thrilled to help bring this creative vision to life and anticipate it will inspire significant positive change in consumer behaviour towards reusable products.”

OceanSaver Launch Brand Building Campaign: The Ocean Will Thank You

OceanSaver® is to make its TV debut helping its mission to save Ocean life from the plastic pollution and the harmful chemicals in 28 billion single-use plastic cleaning products created every year. OceanSaver provides plastic-free, plant-based Laundry, Cleaning Sprays, and Dishwashing products that clean like the leading brands without harming Ocean life.

OceanSaver were one of 5 winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, which awarded the small team £250,000 worth of TV media across Sky Media’s portfolio of TV channels. OceanSaver’s campaign idea “The Ocean Will Thank You” is a fun and radically positive way to encourage people to make an easy everyday switch to save our Ocean. The wider campaign launched on Earth Day, 22nd April 2024 across OOH, social and in store activities with the TV advert kicking in today. Aiming to inspire a reconnection with the waters that surround us introduces the nation’s new favourite crabs Bluey, Lil’ Hermit, Fiddler and Hairy Harry, along with the OceanSaver jingle, sung by the incredible Bristolian sea shanty group, The Longest Johns.

OceanSaver’s first ever TV campaign, introduces the nation to a new brand platform, “The Ocean will Thank You”, and a new set of brand mascots, the singing crabs, all created by Hearts & Minds. The film features a quartet of crabs, surprising a man named Gareth as he puts his washing on using an ocean-friendly laundry capsule. The crabs burst into a sea shanty to thank him for his efforts. The TV spot was written by Andy George and Jonathan Thake, and directed by the award-winning Jake Mavity, of Rogue Films. The ads were produced using AdGreen standards, with minimal carbon usage, all of which was triple offset.

Andy George, Founder of Hearts and Minds, says, “This category, and eco comms in general, so often deploy shock tactics or shame as a way to influence people’s purchases. Which just isn’t very effective. So, we’re very grateful to have found a partner in OceanSaver who share our belief in the power of positivity, entertainment, and a simple thank you, to get to Britain buying better for the Ocean and for the planet.”

OceanSaver’s new crab creations are set to become the meerkats of the Ocean, and the team is excited for the nation to fall in love with them. OceanSaver will also put their crab characters on all owned assets, so the more famous they are, the more recognisable the brand will be, and the greater the impact they’ll be able to make on Ocean health.

As part of the brand building from launch on Earth Day, OceanSaver will buy ad space via AdSmart from Sky and Video on Demand, targeting the top 20% of the most environmentally engaged households, using location-based targeting (obtained via DTC and Tesco sales data). The advert will reach 630,000 households every week, creating an excellent uplift in brand awareness bolstered by location targeted YouTube and Meta ads.

Adam Parker, Re-Founder and Marketing Director at OceanSaver says, “We need to save the Ocean, so the Ocean can save us. We’re crabsolutely delighted to partner with Sky and the Longest Johns to take our positive message to millions. Now anyone can switch from plastic and harmful chemicals – the Ocean will thank you. These are simple switches that can create impact for generations.”

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning, Sky Media, added: “OceanSaver’s advert shares a really important message – small changes make a huge difference. Something that is crucial to Sky Media’s mission in tackling the climate crisis. The Sky Zero Footprint Fund celebrates brands that make sustainable swaps easy and enticing. OceanSaver delivered exactly this in their humorous, creative campaign. We’re really excited to get this creative live and see the huge impact it is going to have on the cleaning products market.”

OceanSaver will also be looking to their community to make the most of this pivotal opportunity in the challenger brand’s journey, encouraging maximum organic sharing and viewing of the ad on YouTube by incentivising sharing, for every share, they will donate the cost of an oyster to their partners Blue Marine Foundation, creating restorative new oyster reefs in the Solent (up to a value of £5000); OceanSaver will also partner with TikTok creators to re-share and riff on the ad.

Pawsitively Exciting Developments for Grub Club with TV and Retail Deals

The insect protein pet food brand launches its first-ever TV advert using its prize media value from the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund

Today, Sky Media announces that the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund Grand Prix winner, Grub Club, will make its TV debut using its £1 million media value prize fund.

After thorough deliberation, Grub Club, which produces insect-based dog food, was selected as the overall Sky Zero Footprint Fund winner last December. The brand was praised for its ability to shake up the pet food industry, its bold creative idea, and because it’s a simple sustainable swap that anyone can make.

This news of Grub Club’s TV launch comes shortly after the brand recently announced its retail expansion plans with the UK’s largest pet retailer, Pets at Home. This deal will see its range of treats and dental sticks stocked in 460 stores nationwide and online.

Supercharging the retail opportunity, Grub Club’s TV campaign is powered by Sky Media’s Performance Solutions and One Campaign measurement, airing across a mix of linear and VOD channels. In addition, the campaign will refine its target to pet owners, based on web search behaviour and Pet’s At Home’s postcode data to optimise the brand’s new retail deal.

The ad, used the brand’s pet mascot Stephen, to display human’s fears and anxieties about climate change from the perspective of a dog. The creative, which is available to view above, was crafted and produced in partnership with Small World Collective and Nusa Films, and follows best practice advice and recommendations from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen programme.

Alessandro Di Trapani, Co-Founder at Grub Club Pets, said: ”We’re delighted to launch our first ever TV ad with Sky Media. The Sky Zero Footprint Fund has given us an incredible opportunity to drive mass reach and build this exciting new category of pet food. We hope that it sparks more conversation about the role insects can play, not just in feeding our pets, but also in helping us fix our global food systems for future generations to come.”

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning, Sky Media, added: “We’re excited for Grub Club’s advert to make it’s TV debut. Grub Club is disrupting the pet food market, and we feel privileged to be part of their journey in spreading the knowledge of their products. Personally, I can’t wait to see the impact this will have on their business and the sector in general.”

Stop what you’re chewing, Milliways is making its TV debut

The plant-based, plastic-free chewing gum brand launches its first-ever TV advert using its prize media value from the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund

Sky Media has announced that the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund finalist, Milliways, has unveiled its winning advert, marking the brand’s TV debut. The campaign will run from today until the 21^st of April.

Ever wondered what it’s like to chew your dog’s favourite toy or fancied a bite of your office water cooler? These are just some of the absurd scenarios featured in Milliways new ad.

The leading plastic-free, plant-based and biodegradable chewing gum brand won £250,000 media value as a finalist in the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund, which will be used to amplify their message via their new ad to millions across the UK.

The disruptor brand’s creative concept made it to the Sky Zero Footprint Fund’s final five, where Milliways unveiled its 30” TV advert to Sky Media’s panel of judges at the Fund’s Showcase event in December 2023.

Styled in the brand’s bold visual language, the creative uses confusion and intrigue to shine a light on the hidden plastic in big-brand gum. It aims to educate the 85% of people that don’t realise they’re chewing the same plastic found in plastic straws, plastic bags and plastic bottles.

The ad was shot by award-winning directors and producers, including Talya Galasko, Mercy TV and Hatch London, and follows best practice advice and recommendations from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen programme.

The TV campaign will be aired across a mix of channels and programming using Sky Media’s One Campaign Addressable and Dunhumby data to target category buyers.

Tom Raviv, Founder at Milliways, said: “Milliways’ mission is to make great tasting, plastic-free chewing gum that delivers sustainable quality without compromise for the planet. This requires enormous effort when most consumers don’t know that big brands use plastic ingredients in their chewing gum. Not to mention the artificial additives and ingredients that go into their recipes too. The sad reality is that billions of pieces of gum are chewed every year, and the vast majority of it is made with single-use plastic that isn’t recyclable and never biodegrades.

“With Sky Media’s reach and Milliways’ planet-friendly products, we’re ready to create a sustainable mass change in behaviour by informing consumers in a way that raises a smile at the same time.”

Director, Talya Galasko, said: “This is the third campaign and first TV ad I’ve shot for Milliways. It’s been so exciting developing a distinct tone and visual language with the brand, and seeing that come to life on TV screens across the country. It’s undeniably fun and eye-catching, and gets across a serious message in an approachable away.”

Here are some insights that inform Milliways’ mission and show the impact their product could have:

• The vast majority of big brand chewing gum is made from single-use plastic (up to one plastic straw per piece[1]) that never biodegrades.
• 374 billion pieces of gum are chewed every year[2], which equates to 3.8million km² (almost enough to cover the entire EU in gum)!
• Yet, 85% of people don’t realise they’re chewing the same plastic used in the production of plastic straws, plastic bags and plastic bottles[3].
• While you chew on that… let us share another (not-so-fun) fact… Chewing gum is the second most littered item on the PLANET after cigarettes[4]! 80-90% of gum isn’t disposed properly and can end up in oceans or on public surfaces[5].
• Since the brand’s launch, Milliways has saved tens of millions of pieces of plastic gum from entering the ecosystem.
• And if Milliways were to reach 30 million consumers, through their TV campaign, and could encourage each consumer to buy a single pack of Milliways gum just once, that could prevent 300 million plastic gum moments from entering our ecosystem.

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said, “It’s really shocking that most gum is made of single-use plastic – who would want to eat that! The judges loved the Milliways entry because it’s a disruptor brand with such a simple swap for consumers to practice more sustainable behaviours – all they need to do is reach for a different brand on the retailer’s shelf. We have loved watching the brand on its Sky Zero Footprint Fund journey and are really proud of the creative that they’ve produced as a result – it’s brilliantly funny, distinctive and tells their story in a memorable way that’s sure to cut through. We can’t wait to see the impact that the TV campaign will have on the brand’s growth and on changing people’s gum purchasing habits.”

Milliways is available in over 6,500 stores across the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Pret A Manger and Costa amongst others.

Sources:

• [1] https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Litterbugs.pdf
• [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10759416/#:~:text=Some%20374%20billion%20pieces%20of,an%20influence%20on%20oral%20health
• [3] https://about.iceland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Iceland-launches-plastic-free-chewing-gum-1.1.18.pdf
• [4] https://www.cwejournal.org/vol16no3/improper-disposal-of-non-biodegradable-chewing-gum-is-one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-our-ecology–a-review
• [5] https://www.dover.gov.uk/Environment/Environmental-Crime/Chewing-Gum-Waste.aspx#:~:text=Chewing%20Gum%20Facts&text=80%2D90%25%20of%20chewin

Grub Club Announced as £1m Grand Prix Winner of the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund

• Sky Media announces that Grub Club has won the £1m Grand Prix of the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund.
• The £2million advertising initiative has been running for three consecutive years, aiming to inspire behavioural change for a more sustainable future.
• The other finalists Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle secured £250k in media value, which will be used to support their sustainability initiatives.
• All ads will be unveiled to UK consumers in 2024.

Grub Club has been unveiled by Sky Media as the recipient of the Grand Prix prize of the 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund. The £2million advertising initiative is designed to support and encourage the nation to #GoZero, by raising awareness of the climate crisis and using the power of TV to inspire actions to protect the planet. Launched in 2021, the fund has contributed £6m to amplify businesses that promote behavioural change and deliver tangible positive impact.

Grub Club which produces insect protein dog food, was selected as the winner of the Grand Prix £1million media value prize. Four other finalists, Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle secured £250,000 as part of the scheme.

Hugh Petit, Co-Founder at Grub Club said: “We’re ecstatic to be announced as winners of the grand prize. Our journey starts here with our insect-based dog food that is not only nutritious and delicious for our pets, but it’s also helping to save the planet. By converting 1% of the UK’s 12M dogs to Grub Club, we can save up to 180,000 tonnes of C02e emissions, which is equivalent to a whopping 22.5K trips around the world in a car.

“We’re dog food with purpose and Sky Media is giving us a larger platform to be able to commit to having a real measurable impact on pets and the planet through the power of TV.”

The tough decision was determined yesterday, on Thursday, 7th December, at the Soho Hotel in London, following presentations from each brand showcasing their sustainability initiatives and unveiling their ads. The winning campaign was chosen by a panel of expert judges with considerable experience in advertising, creativity, and sustainability. Judges included Stephen Woodford (Chair of the Advertising Association); Sarah Jones (Director of Planning at Sky Media); Lindsey Clay (CEO of Thinkbox), Jo Fenn (Global Director of AdGreen); David Garrido (Presenter at Sky Sports); Gideon Spanier (UK Editor in chief of Campaign); Chris Baker (Co-Founder of Serious Tissues); Pippa Glucklich (Chief Executive Office of Electric Glue); Michelle Carvil (Marketing Consultant); Rosie Arnold (Creative Consultant); Richard Shotton (Behavioural Scientist); Dino Myers-Lamptey (founder of The Barber Shop); Marianne Matthews (Group Head, Responsible Business & Sustainability at Sky) and Cara French (Head of Strategic Partnerships at Media Trust).

The judges were impressed with the creative presentations from all the finalists. After thorough deliberation, Grub Club clinched the Grand Prix million-pound prize due to its ability to shake up its industry, its fun and bold creative and because it’s a simple sustainable swap that anyone can make. The winning ad was crafted and produced in partnership with Small World Collective and Nusa Films.

Sarah Jones Director of Planning at Sky Media commented, “We’re so pleased to have run the Sky Zero Footprint Fund for its third consecutive year. In total we’ve given £6million in media value to supporting businesses that are helping to tackle climate change by offering consumers sustainable alternatives.

All five winners will play a crucial role in inspiring the nation to make environmentally conscious changes using the power and reach of TV. Thanks so much to all our 2023 entrants and finalists – the standard this year was exceptional. A massive congratulations to Grub Club for securing the £1 million Grand Prix. We can’t wait to see all our winners make their debut on TV in 2024.”

The five winning ads were all produced following best practice advice and recommendations from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen programme.

Established by Sky, the Footprint Fund is part of the Sky Zero campaign to decarbonise its business operations and commitment to encourage its customers to #GoZero, by using its content and channels to raise awareness of the climate crisis and inspire viewers with actions they can take to protect the planet. The five finalists of Sky Zero’s Footprint Fund (in alphabetical order) are:

GrubClub
Grub Club is leading the Sustainable Pet Food Revolution by replacing the traditional sources of protein found in pet food with insect protein. Born out of the fact that the pet food industry generates over 100m tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, Grub Club is on a mission to empower as many paws as humanly possible as we strive towards a more sustainable future.

Milliways
Milliways is plastic-free, plant-based and planet-friendly chewing gum. The best-selling and award-winning range is fully biodegradable, aspartame-free, sugar-free, vegan and compostable. Most chewing gum brands are made from artificial additives and chewy plastic ingredients which may cause harm to our health and our environment. Milliways is on a mission to make its Super Natural Gum the norm for everyone, every day. Available in a variety of flavours including Peppermint, Mighty Mint, Bubble Mint and Watermelon, you can grab a pack of Milliways at any Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Pret A Manger, Costa, Whole Foods Ocado and WH Smith nationwide.

Ocean Bottle
The ocean is our most valuable resource in fighting climate change and without a healthy ocean there is no us. But it’s choking with plastic and by 2050 plastic is expected to outweigh all fish in the ocean. In its first TV campaign Ocean Bottle connects us to the issue by showing a weird but familiar dystopian world where plastic has replaced fish and invites us to see that another future is possible.

Every Ocean Bottle product funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles.

OceanSaver®
OceanSaver® exists to save Ocean life from the plastic pollution and harmful chemicals in 28 billion single-use plastic cleaning products created every year. Our plastic-free, plant based Laundry, Cleaning Sprays, and Dishwashing products clean like the leading brands without harming Ocean life. They are affordable and easy to buy in your local Tesco, ASDA, Ocado, and Amazon. Join over 100,000 people who are saying “pollocks to plastic” and become an OceanSaver today. The Ocean will thank you.

UpCircle
One third of all food in the UK is wasted, yet nearly one third of people have a skincare routine. That’s one huge opportunity to save the planet through skincare. At UpCircle, we make sustainable skincare products from ingredients that would otherwise be discarded. We’re stocked in household retailers like Holland & Barrett, Ocado, The Fragrance Shop, Sephora, Look Fantastic, Superdrug, Deliveroo, Whole Foods US, Walmart and more. Our brand has seen staggering growth in the last seven years, selling hundreds of thousands of products per year, in over 45 different countries. In fact, an UpCircle best seller sells every 90 seconds. We have over 25,000 5* reviews and a cult following that we fondly call our “UpCirclers”. It all started when we discovered that more than 500,000 tonnes of coffee grounds that are consumed each year in the UK alone are sent to landfill (where they produce methane). On discovering this, my brother Will and I decided to start collecting coffee grounds from cafes across London and transforming them into skincare products.

But it’s not just coffee! We’ve come a long way since then and now upcycle more than 50 by-product ingredients – upcycled oat husks, rose petals, hibiscus acids and orange peel wax are now all being rescued for our latest launches. We’ve also extended the circular approach that we take to our ingredients to packaging too, and have now refilled 65,000 pieces of packaging via our “Return, Refill, Reuse” scheme.

2023 Winners of £2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund revealed

• Five eco-friendly brands announced as winners of Sky’s 2023 £2 million sustainable advertising initiative.
• This year, Grub Club, Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle have been selected by an esteemed judging panel to each win £250,000 in media value, helping to supercharge their sustainable brands.
• The five brands will now move into ad production in advance of the final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing a total of £1 million in media value.
• Established by Sky Media, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, now in its third year, supports sustainable brands by helping to amplify their climate-positive campaigns using the power of TV and advertising.

Sky announces Grub Club, Milliways, Ocean Bottle, OceanSaver® and UpCircle as the five winners of its award-winning Sky Zero Footprint Fund. Now in its third consecutive year, the £2 million advertising fund uses the power of TV advertising to tackle climate change by supporting campaigns that drive behaviour change for a more sustainable world.

The five winning brands were selected because of their pitch’s display to inspire change, with each one demonstrating sustainable values that align to Sky’s own. Sky Zero‘s pledge is to go net zero carbon by 2030 and inspire others to join the journey.

Last Thursday, 10th August, a panel of industry experts, with credentials in advertising, creativity and sustainability, met and assessed live pitches from the shortlisted brands at the Thinkbox HQ in Holborn. Each brand was judged on the merits of their creativity (ability to capture the attention of the nation); impact (the potential to drive real, tangible behavioural change); and sustainable credibility (their authentic commitment as a business to tackle climate change).

Each of the winning businesses has been awarded £250,000 in media value. They will now move into ad production, ahead of a final stage of judging in December, which will see the most compelling creative securing an additional £750,000 (totalling £1 million) in media value.

This year’s judging panel included a range of new additions with Chris Baker, Co-Founder of Serious Tissues who won the Grand Prix £1 million ad spend last year; Sky Sports News Presenter and Sustainability Lead, David Garrido; Pippa Glucklich, Chief Executive Office of Electric Glue; Marketing Consultant Michelle Carvil, author of Sustainable Marketing and Co-Founder of Can Marketing Save the Planet Podcast; Creative Consultant, Rosie Arnold; Richard Shotton, Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Illusion of Choice and The Choice Factory; and Dino Myers-Lamptey, founder of The Barber Shop & Co-Chair of The Conscious Advertising Network GSD Advisory Group.

The panel also saw the return of Stephen Woodford (Chair of the Advertising Association), Fiona Ball (Group Director of Bigger Picture at Sky), Sarah Jones (Director of Planning at Sky Media) Jo Fenn (Global Director of AdGreen) and Gideon Spanier (UK Editor in Chief of Campaign).

All five winning ads will be produced using insights, tools and learnings from AdGreen. Part of the Advertising Association, AdGreen supports the ad industry shift towards net zero, eliminating the negative environmental impacts of production. Established by Sky Media, the Footprint Fund is part of the Sky Zero campaign to be net zero carbon by 2030.

The five winning businesses are (alphabetically):

• Grub Club (Hypoallergenic insect-based dog food)
• Milliways (Plastic free, plant powered and planet friendly gum)
• Ocean Bottle (B Corp certified reusable bottles)
• OceanSaver® (Ocean safe eco cleaning products)
• UpCircle (Natural skincare with upcycled ingredients)

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said “It’s been an absolute honour to work on the Sky Zero Footprint Fund for the last two years and I’ve been so inspired by the brilliant range of applications this year too. The calibre of presentations we saw in the Footprint Fund Dragon’s Den was truly exceptional. Thanks to our fantastic judging panel who helped to select our winners – I can’t wait to see the ads from our final 5 in December and to see the impact they have when they launch their campaigns.”

Fiona Ball, Group Director of the Bigger Picture and Sustainability at Sky, said: “Sky uses its platforms to engage audiences on climate change and encourage steps to reduce carbon emissions. Over the last two years, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund has helped produce 10 exceptional adverts, propelling sustainable brands’ messages onto television to inspire wide, tangible behavioural change. Advertising can play a key role in raising awareness of climate issues and inspiring changes in daily habits, so we look forward to seeing the 2023 winners’ adverts on our TV channels.”

Alessandro Di Trapani, Cofounder & CEO, Grub Club, said, “We are absolutely buzzing to have made this year’s Final 5. The Sky Zero Footprint Fund gives us an incredible opportunity to tell the Grub Club story to millions of people across the UK, which will be a game-changer for us in educating pet parents about the sustainable alternatives that exist in pet food. Time to turn man’s best friend into Earth’s best friend.”

Tom Raviv, Founder and CEO, Milliways, said “We’re incredibly excited to be given this opportunity with Sky. We launched Milliways with the mission of taking the plastic and artificial ingredients out of conventional gum and replacing them with plant-based and plastic-free alternatives. It’s important for us to inform the public that most gum brands are made from single-use plastics which pollute our planet and may harm our health. Working with the Sky Zero Footprint Fund aligns with our mission and gives us the perfect platform to share Milliways’ story and purpose with the world – taking us a step closer towards making Milliways accessible for everyone to enjoy.”

William Pearson, CEO of Ocean Bottle, said: “We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the winners of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. With Sky’s full support Ocean Bottle will be able to reach millions of people across the UK and fund the collection of over 100 million plastic bottles in weight and prevent them from entering the ocean in coastal communities around the world. We hope to help unbrainwash the nation from the single-use habits we have all become so accustomed to, save our pockets and the environment and make some history in the process.”

Adam Joe Parker, Marketing Director, OceanSaver® said, “The OceanSaver team is absolutely cod-smacked and delighted to have been selected as a Sky Zero Footprint Fund winner. This is a real seal of approval that saving our Ocean is critical to helping us solve the climate challenge and our creative idea that “the Ocean will thank you” for the small changes you make. We know that most people want to be more eco-friendly and deeply care about our Ocean. That’s why we’re making it easy for anyone to become an OceanSaver. We’re excited to partner with Sky to involve even more people in our wave of change.”

Anna Brightman, Co-Founder, UpCircle, said, “We are ecstatic to have made it into the final five brands in the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. With our total commitment to the circular economy we’ve been pretty disruptive in the beauty industry since day one, setting a new standard. It’s an industry that sends 120 billion units of packaging to landfills per year, so a new standard is necessary! This opportunity could be pivotal for UpCircle, taking the next big step towards making a concept like ours more mainstream. It’s incredibly exciting to know that we now have the opportunity to show our innovative ingredient rescuing concept on national TV and we can’t wait to get started”.

Qualifying conditions and offer prize confirmation can be found on the fund website. To get all further details on the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, visit www.skymedia.co.uk/skyzerofootprintfund/.

Eco Home Care champion Homethings unveils its first ever TV spot with a Tap-Tapity-Tap

• The spot, created by Founders Makers, cleverly plays on the brand’s trademark “Just Add Tap™” slogan by introducing the “Tap-Tapity-Tap” concept, playing service to its innovative range of waterless, refillable, re-usable and single-use plastic free cleaning products
• Homethings’ new ad creative will air for the first time on 2nd April 2023 across a mix of channels and programming in Sky Media’s portfolio
• The ad, supported by the £250,000 media value it won as a finalist in the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund TV campaign, will run throughout April as the nation gears up for spring cleaning

Homethings – the most innovative challenger brand in sustainable home care – reveals the creative for its first ever national TV advert. A finalist in the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund, Homethings winning advert is imaginative, witty and boldly understated. The 30” spot brings to life the brand’s trademark slogan “Just Add Tap™” and further forwards the brand’s mission to make refillable products more mainstream.

Created and produced by Founders Makers in conjunction with the team at Homethings, the ad opens with ‘your pretty average guy’ dressed in a grey robe – a dreary contrast to his statement mustard yellow kitchen. In the background, the faint sound of tapping can be heard. In a short summary, “The Tap Man” explains the bonkers reality that the average cleaning spray is mainly water, packaged and shipped around the world in single-use plastic. As the camera zooms out, we can see that “The Tap Man” is the culprit of the infectious tap-tapity-tapping, sporting a pair of signature black tap dancing shoes.

In a brilliant, cheesy 80s flash, he introduces Homethings – a clever, powerful refillable alternative series of cleaning sprays that consumers can activate at home when they add tap water. Whipping off his robe, “The Tap Man” comes into his own, delighting viewers with a top-notch tap-dancing effort that’s interjected with snappy visuals showing Homethings’ all-purpose spray being filled with tap water and the effervescent tablet dissolving till it’s ready to use.

The ad culminates in a moment that’s reminiscent of a local panto performance, as the brand’s logo rolls down from a banner and confetti fills the air, ending on the Homethings’ tagline “Just Add Tap™”.

Homethings produced the spot after securing a media investment from the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund, which was established to support businesses that are driving practical solutions to the climate crisis. The Sky Zero Footprint Fund rewards five sustinable businesses annually with a share of £2 million worth of ad spend across Sky’s Media’s cross-platform portfolio.

Tim Keaveney, Co-Founder of Homethings, commented: “We are fizzing with excitement to see this ad go live nationwide across Sky. Our mission at Homethings is to change the way the world cleans and raising awareness that most products are mainly water packed in plastic on a nationwide scale takes us one step closer to that mission. The ad is as bonkers as the problem we are trying to solve. We really wanted to highlight some of the fundamental issues within the home care industry, but rather than delivering it in a way that feels preachy, we wanted it to be relatable and to bring a sense of real joy for consumers in what is a really difficult time. The ad really delivers that and shows just how simple and impactful a swap like this can be.”

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said: “Our Footprint Fund Judges were so impressed by the potential impact that Homethings will have on the environment. Their brilliantly playful ‘Just add Tap’ creative perfectly encapsulates their commitment to disrupt and revolutionise the home cleaning industry through refillable products. Homethings’ message is ideally suited to tap into the homes of our audiences as the nation prepares for the annual spring cleaning frenzy.”

Charlie Holman, Strategy Director at Founders Makers, added: “Understandably there is very little humour in ‘environmental comms’. This means the same recycled images and scare tactics routinely get wheeled out by brands; glaciers melting, the animal kingdom dying and oceans full of plastic – we’ve seen it all before. So it was time to try something new that lived up to the Homethings reputation for being a disruptor in the cleaning category. For us ‘The Tap Man’ truly embodies what the brand’s tone is all about. It’s memorable, but not preachy, and the perfect way of celebrating the simple solution that is Homethings. After all, you don’t change behaviour if no one remembers you.”

The Homethings ad aired for the first time on the 2nd of April and can be watched on Linear and VOD platforms across Sky Media’s portfolio of channels and programming.

For more information, visit www.gethomethings.com

£2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund returns with the addition of a new ‘Local Heroes’ public vote

The third year of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund welcomes an additional local ad fund; new research into the impact of sustainable advertising; and the expertise of an expanded judging panel including 2022 Grand Prix winner Serious Tissues.

• Established by Sky Media, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund supports brands committed to driving a more sustainable future
• The £2 million media fund is split across 5 winning brands, with a Grand Prix winner walking away with £1 million in TV advertising
• Inclusive of this year’s initiative, the total media value gifted by Sky will be in excess of £6 million
• The 2023 Sky Zero Footprint Fund will see the launch of an additional media value for sustainable local businesses and initiatives around the UK
• Newly-commissioned research, to be released next month, reveals insights and the impact that sustainable messaging and creative has on consumers and brand metrics

The Sky Zero Footprint Fund returns for a third year with a new expanded format. The £2 million initiative was established to help brands accelerate their sustainable initiatives and inspire behavioural change using the power and scale of TV advertising. The campaign champions the adoption of tangible steps towards a sustainable future and is an extension of the media owner’s Sky Zero pledge to go net zero carbon by 2030.

Once again, the initiative is open to brands, media and creative agencies in the UK and Ireland – with the most imaginative and impactful idea securing £1 million of the £2 million advertising media value.

This year, will also see the introduction of an additional fund for local businesses and initiatives. The ‘Local Heroes’ Fund, with winners partially voted for by the public, will be launching in April using AdSmart from Sky to help connect worthy businesses to their local community.

So far, the Sky Zero Footprint Fund has invested £4 million in advertising support for sustainable brands, which will exceed a total of £6 million in 2023.

A panel of respected industry figures with credentials in advertising, creativity and sustainability will assess the entries, with this year’s judging panel welcoming a raft of new experts including:

• Pippa Glucklich – Chief Executive Office at Electric Glue
• David Garrido – Sky Sports Presenter and Sustainability Lead
• Michelle Carvil – Marketing Consultant, Author of Sustainable Marketing and Co-Founder and Host of Can Marketing Save the Planet Podcast
• Chris Baker – Co-Founder of Serious Tissues (and 2022 Grand Prix Sky Zero Footprint Fund winner)
• Rosie Arnold – Creative Consultant and AMV BBDO’s former Head of Art Creative Partner
• Richard Shotton – Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Choice Factory
• Dino Myers-Lamptey – Founder at The Barber Shop & Co-Chair of The Conscious Advertising Network GSD Advisory Group

The judging panel will ultimately select the five winners based on their sustainable operations to date, their commitment to a carbon-zero future and their product/services’ potential impact to drive positive behaviour change at scale.

The 2023 panel will also see the return of Stephen Woodford (CEO of the Advertising Association), Fiona Ball (Group Director of Bigger Picture at Sky), Lindsey Clay (CEO of Thinkbox), Jo Fenn (Global Director of AdGreen), Helen Brain (Head of Sustainability & Sustainable Communications Consultant at EssenceMediacom), Gideon Spanier (UK Editor in chief of Campaign) and Su-Mei Thompson (CEO at Media Trust).

New Research

New research, specially commissioned by Sky Media, on sustainability in advertising will also be released next month. In collaboration with Savanta, the analysis of over 5000 Sky customers delves into the role of green messaging, its impact on behaviour and brand preference. The research highlights key creative levers which drive influence, as well as the dangers of inauthenticity and greenwashing.

The findings show that 3 in 5 Sky customers say that sustainability messaging in advertising influences their brand choice, and that by including credible and actionable sustainable messaging in a campaign has the potential to drive 5% increase in short-term effectiveness, as well as greater long-term brand preference.

Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, commented, “While the cost-of-living crisis is taking much of our attention, we can’t afford to forget about climate change. So, for this year’s Sky Zero Footprint fund, we’d love to see ideas that can save the planet and your pocket at the same time. We’ve seen the impact our fund can have on launching more sustainable businesses on TV and the catalyst effect on the categories they are in too. With our biggest ever Footprint Fund in 2023, we are excited to see how we can help drive change at a local and national level.”

Chris Baker, 2022 Grand Prix winner and Co-Founder of Serious Tissues, said, “The Sky Zero Footprint Fund is an absolutely incredible initiative that’s making a real difference in the industry…but I’m probably a little biased! It was brilliant to see all the great brands who are making huge strides towards a more sustainable future that we were alongside last year. I’m really looking forward to being a judge this year and being inspired by more great thinking. Bravo to Sky for continuing to drive this paradigm shift in the sector.”

Applications for the £2 million Sky Zero Footprint Fund are open from the 29th of March until the 26th of May 2023.

From the entries, fifteen brands will progress to a live pitch with the judges in August. The five most impactful and creative ideas will share the £2 million pot of media value with each business being guaranteed at least £250,000 and the strongest submission securing £1 million for its campaign. The five winners will be announced in August before progressing with the TV advert production, which will need to be produced in line with guidance from the Advertising Association’s AdGreen standards.

Addressing the climate crisis requires all businesses, brands and individuals to take responsibility for lowering their carbon emissions. For 17 years, Sky’s ‘believe in better’ has seen it reduce its environmental impact. Motivated to inspire others to follow by sharing the knowledge and experience it has gained over that time, Sky launched the fund in 2021.

For full details and to find out how to apply for the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, visit skymedia.co.uk/skyzerofootprintfund.

A search a day helps keep climate change away

Search engine Ecosia launches its climate active advert created for the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund

Sky Media has announced that the Sky Zero Footprint Fund finalist, Ecosia, unveiled its winning advert on 21st March to coincide with International Day of Forests, and will run until the 25th of April.

Ecosia, the green search engine, won £250,000 media value as a finalist in the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund. The TV campaign will be aired across a mix of channels and programming on Linear, as well as on AdSmart and VOD platforms using Sky Media’s One Campaign Addressable proposition.

After the brand’s creative concept made it to the Sky Zero Footprint Fund’s final 5, Ecosia unveiled its 30” TV advert to Sky Media’s panel of judges at the Fund’s Showcase event in December 2022. The judges praised Ecosia for the way their advert communicated their vision so beautifully and the simplicity of its use and potential impact – simply asking the nation to switch to Ecosia and then continue doing internet searches, which would equate to trees being planted.

Sophie Dembinski, Ecosia’s Head of Policy & UK, at Ecosia, said: “We are so proud to be finalists in the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund – not only because our team have produced a world-class advert. Ecosia’s collaboration with Sky Media highlights the positive impact businesses can make in fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity at a crucial time for the planet.”

Sina Samavati, Ecosia’s Creative Director said, “Ecosia’s impact in combating the climate crisis is all thanks to a community of users and tree planters across the globe. Our aim is to make sure we grow this community however we can. Switching search engines and using Ecosia is the easiest way we can all be climate active and bring about positive change to people across the globe as well as our planet. Our ad was conceptualised, written and directed in-house and produced thanks to an amazing local creative team in Berlin. Our challenges were our limited budget and our commitment to produce the ad as sustainably as possible. We implemented a number of sustainable measures and we worked with highly committed people to produce an ad that delivers our message in a simple yet effective way.”

Here are some insights that show the impact Ecosia is already having:

• It has 20 million active global users per month, nearly 2 million of which are in the UK
• Ecosia’s users have planted over 160 million trees
• Ecosia currently plants trees in over 35 countries with over 70 partners across 75 projects around the world in over 13,000 planting sites
• Ecosia users finance one tree every 1.3 seconds through their online searches
• 100% of Ecosia’s profits go to climate action

Think your organisation could be a winner in the Footprint Fund 2023? Click here to register your interest in hearing more about Footprint Fund 2023 ahead of the launch.

The UK’s greenest delivery company* unveils its ‘Footprints’ advert

Royal Mail launches its carbon conscious advert created for the 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund

Sky Media announces that the Sky Zero Footprint Fund finalist, Royal Mail, will unveil its ‘Footprints’ advertising campaign – encouraging UK consumers to send their parcels greener.

Using the £250,000 media value that Royal Mail won from the Sky Zero Footprint Fund in 2022, its TV campaign will run from 27th February until 27th March 2023 on Linear and VOD platforms, with a mix of channels and programming across Sky Media’s portfolio.

The brand’s 30” TV creative was unveiled for the first time to the panel of judges at the Sky Zero Footprint Fund Showcase event on 7 December 2022, where it was highly commended for its premium production values and the campaign’s potential impact on UK consumers and the wider delivery industry.

Sonia Sudhakar, Managing Director, Marketing and Digital at Royal Mail, said that the business is “committed to raising awareness about the real carbon impact of our parcel deliveries. Now, with the help of the Sky Zero Footprint Fund and AMV BBDO, we’ll campaign for our entire industry to do the same, thereby empowering customers to help tackle climate change – today!”

Sam Williams, Head of Strategy at AMV BBDO, added: “Over 4.2 billion parcels are sent in the UK every year, but we rarely ever stop to think about the impact on the environment of the things we send. The campaign seeks to wake us up to this reality by dramatising one of the key differentiators for Royal Mail, the fact that the 2/3 of their parcels are delivered on foot, this enables them to have a dramatically ‘lighter’ carbon footprint than the competition. It brings this truth to life through the medium of dance; a mesmerising urban ballet. And then it ends with a very clear call to action to send it greener.”

During production, creative agency AMV BBDO and Royal Mail worked with production house, Thirty-Two and Anonymous Content, to adopt more sustainable production decisions and practices. This included minimising travel (within M25), minimising large-scale art production and post-production, and signing up to Ad Green to calculate and monitor the carbon impact of the production.

Here are some insights that informed Royal Mail’s campaign and creative execution:

1. 70% of consumers would choose a more sustainable delivery option. IMRG Consumer Home Delivery Review 2021
2. 40% of consumers would be willing to pay more for a sustainable delivery option IMRG Consumer Home Delivery Review 2021
3. 2/3 of Royal Mail’s parcels are delivered on foot or by park and loop (by 90,000 posties who walk over a billion steps a day), which allows them to maintain a carbon footprint that’s less than half of their competitors.

Interested in giving it a go yourself? Click here to register your interest in hearing more about Sky Zero Footprint Fund 2023, ahead of the launch.