Forest and Bird

Portraits for predators.

New Zealand is a country defined by its unique birdlife. It’s home to over 200 native bird species, yet 80% of them are currently facing extinction.

2019 saw New Zealand’s largest seed mast in over 45 years. Forests produced a record number of seed and fruit for all native species. Unfortunately, this food also fuelled plagues of rodents, stoats and possums that kill our birdlife when the food runs out. A recent estimate showed that 26.4m native birds, chicks and eggs are eaten by introduced predators every year.

In partnership with ColensoBBDO and Forest & Bird, we created a series of native bird posters. These posters were printed on the same edible corflute used to detect which predators are prevalent in forest areas. Bird pheromones were applied to the posters to attract predators, and they were left in the New Zealand bush to endure the same attacks our native birds do. The remains were photographed.

The campaign included street posters in high-dwell urban areas, various digital billboards, and multiple adshells inside all major New Zealand airports. Media ran from December 1st – February 29th. The campaign received press coverage on Newshub and Radio NZ. The original posters now hang at the National Museum.