Ogilvy lays bear traps in top cities for WWF ad push

Bear traps and spoof TV ads form the backbone of a hard-hitting campaign by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in China.

In the latest attempt to wean Chinese consumers off a 5,000-year-old tradition of using animal body parts for medicinal use, consumers will see bear traps laid on busy pedestrian shopping streets of first-tier cities by the WFF's pro-bono ad agency, Ogilvy & Mather. A national TVC -- the first by WWF in China -- will feature a snake-oil salesman selling off at a 'great' discount the last of the world's endangered species, forests and other natural resources. The spoof 30-second advert lampoons the numerous hard-selling, often dubious, ads on Chinese TV. "We are targeting the urban, educated, middle classes who might not be fully aware of what China's amazing development is doing to the environment. The campaign has to be aggressive," said Nils Andersson, group ECD at Ogilvy Beijing.