2012 is really gonna be Armageddon if we don't take care of our oceans now!

We're ready for 2012.  We will be focusing on the seas.

You know we have an extremely irritable habit right?  Whatever us urban folks don't sight, don't mind.  But it's high time we do because if the ocean which covers 71% of the Earth, is screwed, we're screwed.  And you know what?  The 'end-of-the-world' story that everyone has been whimpering about?  It will happen and we don't need no Nostradamus-kind to tell us that.

Let's take a look at who's driving some campaigns.

We have Greenpeace advocating against illegal fishing:



We have Nat Geo talking about Giant Jellyfish and Squids taking over the world.

We have Omega launching its Seamaster Planet Ocean to equip our marine warriors to fight evil in the depth of the seas:



And we have WWF advocating the protection and conservation of the Coral Triangle (which spans across 6 countries and is famously known as 'The Cradle of the Seas') - a womb, where most marine life stems from.



We don't need to be divers to know that we should stay away from shark's fin and turtle poaching.  And more importantly, we don't need an Armageddon prediction to tell us we need to sweep our backyard (in this case, the ocean) so that we don't overfish and tip the marine ecosystem off-scale.  We can do something.

1) Support a cause - the easiest, buy a plot of Coral Triangle and take care of it as though it's your own
2) DO NOT CONSUME endangered species!!  Shark's fin?  Turtle soup?  DROP THAT SPOON NOW!  Or... or... I'll BITE you.
3) Try to purchase fishes from your local market and whenever possible, eat ONLY sustainable seafood (there are some companies who fish by bombing and trawling the seabed which either kills or combs everything in the sea!).  We need to give baby seafood sufficient time to grow and reproduce if we want anymore of them on our dinner table :P
4) Spread the news, influence your family and friends - every bit of word helps.

This isn't rocket science and we definitely shouldn't be living in ignorance.  You remember Nemo?  Well, he needs us now.  Try explaining it to your kid what you did to Nemo and his family species/cousins/distant relatives and all and see if you can still sleep at night.

Jokes aside.  I don't know how else to share with you the extremely dire condition our ocean is in.  As a stakeholder, all I'm asking is... if you're not gonna help... at least don't be in the way :)

Listen to this and rise to the occasion:

Beware of the 'Attack of the Giant Jellyfish' even when you're not in the sea.

Attack of the Giant Jellyfish : Programs : Discovery Channel : Discovery Press Web

You need to watch this and understand why we absolutely absolutely absolutely need to protect and breed our turtles. We've been saying no to illegal turtle poaching - eggs and all, without really understanding how important this sea creature is in balancing our ecosystem.

Jellyfish multiplies despite global warming. If at all, warmer sea temperature increases the breeding of these deadly sea-blobs. You may think they are harmless, but to those who have been stung before (and divers) would know how deadly some could be in paralysing one's nervous system, from severe blistering to immediate cardiac arrest. Passively, we're affected when they attack our food supply which is really all our seafood. It's not just about 'aww, I miss my fish for dinner', but we're talking about the possible loss of billion dollars in marine food industry as well as putting the livelihood of millions (tourism, fisheries, etc) at stake because of the imbalance caused by these seemingly innocent heartless, brainless and boneless creatures. Our turtles are one key solution to the possible destruction of marine life. Now you know how important these ninja turtles are and let's do our part in both spreading awareness and advocating actions to protect them. Because they are essentially protecting us without us even realizing all these while.

The Coral Triangle campaign by WWF will be launched on November 3rd. And if you can, buy a plot of the Coral Triangle today and help support them do all they can to protect our sea guardians, above many other things in that area.

If you need any more convincing, watch this:

WWF (panda, not wrestling) x Dentsu for Coral Triangle.

It's finally confirmed and safe to break the news :) Today our dear new partners will be representing Dentsu to pitch a strategic proposal for Coral Triangle 2011 campaign to their regional Marketing Directors in Shanghai. We send Dentsu power from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and all over the world.

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Dentsu Asia Network has been appointed as WWF’s marketing communications agency network for their Coral Triangle campaign after a two-way pitch against BBDO.

As part of the Dentsu Asia Network, offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Phillipines and Japan will each play a significant role in driving a 360 integrated communications strategy to support the awareness campaign for WWF.

The upcoming campaign aims to raise public awareness on the distressing issues affecting the Coral Triangle, one of the world’s most important and vibrant marine eco-systems. Located in the waters off the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-leste, the Coral Triangle is home to 76% of the world’s coral species, sustaining the lives of more than 120 million people in that area.

The recent appointment by WWF leverages on the strength of Dentsu’s network in this region which allows for insights to thrive and local engagements to foster. The campaign came at a favourable time after Dentsu formed a regional action team to address sustainability communication challenges internally and for businesses in the Asian market. For more than two years, the wheels of change have been put into motion through a spectrum of research with Dentsu’s Green Chronicles and injecting sustainable solutions into its diverse marketing initiatives.

Dentsu’s commitment to environmental activities has been recognized by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan when it became the first company in the Japanese advertising industry to receive the “Eco-First” certification. Various group-wide efforts since then have been established to actively promote Dentsu’s environmental agenda to employees, clients and suppliers globally.

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Hip hip hooray! 2011 - The year of sea - Gear up, you urban sailors! Looking forward to produce some great digital ideas ;)