McCann deflates a dolphin to stop people abandoning their inflatables

We all know how plastics are destroying our sea life. Many of us have taken measures to swap plastic straws for paper ones, ditch plastic bottles in favour of reusable, washable ones, and reuse our plastic bags rather than throwing them away. But there are plenty more sources of plastic pollution than that. Now comes a new campaign to highlight one you might not have thought of.

Every year, millions of inflatables are discarded by holidaymakers, typically right on the beach or in the sea. The consequences are severe for marine wildlife and ecosystems, as Ingesting plastics can result in suffering and starvation.

To raise awareness of the issue and encourage holidaymakers to reduce, reuse or recycle their inflatable, Thomas Cook and The Marine Conservation Society have teamed up and launched a new campaign by McCann Birmingham.

Survey results

The campaign follows the results of a new survey commissioned by YourSayPays on behalf of Thomas Cook. The survey reveals that more than a third (37%) of holidaymakers buy inflatables for their trips in the UK and abroad, but fewer than half (47%) of those surveyed said they would reuse or recycle the inflatable after the holiday.

As well as encouraging holidaymakers to take action to reduce, reuse or recycle, Thomas Cook and the Marine Conservation Society, the UK's leading ocean charity, are also calling on hotels to do their bit, with 34% of those surveyed saying they would have recycled their inflatables if hotels had the appropriate facilities.

The ads feature an orca, a dolphin, and a turtle depicted as half-deflated inflatables marooned on a beach. We love how they take a simple visual idea and run with it. The familiar yet weird-looking images mean that passers-by can't fail to do a double-take and take in the message. They will run across OOH in airports and on social media throughout the holiday period.

Attention-grabbing

Adam Bodfish, executive creative director at McCann Birmingham, said, "Chilling out on a lilo is part of the holiday fun, but the impact of abandoned inflatables is often overlooked. Airports are busy places, so we needed to find an original and creative way to grab holidaymakers' attention and make them think twice before they jet off to the beach."

"We all have a role to play in protecting the environment, whether at home or on holiday," says Jennifer Mitchell, director of engagement and communications at the Marine Conservation Society. The stark imagery in this campaign shows how closely litter and marine life are linked. We're hoping that by raising awareness of the environmental impact of abandoned inflatables, we can help reduce the number of them discarded."

Ryan Cotton, marketing director at Thomas Cook, adds, "While we can see just how popular plastic inflatables are when we go on holiday, the environmental impact is significant. We hope that when people see our hard-hitting campaign, they'll think twice before heading to the shops to buy themselves a new lilo and either dig out last year's or borrow one, so we all do our bit to reduce, reuse or recycle."