Y&R shanghai: wooden shark coffins by handsome wong

Y&R shanghai: wooden shark coffins by handsome wong
all images courtesy of handsome wong of Y&R shanghai

fins eerily protrude out of wooden caskets in this social awareness campaign by handsome wong of Y&R shanghai. the shark-sized coffins are used to emphasize the killing of over 73 million of the species every year just for bowls of soup. their fins only make up a small 2% of their total body weight, and they are brutally sliced off with the dead animals then tossed back into the ocean. the campaign was done in collaboration with IFAW, one of china’s most prominent animal welfare organizations. the intent of the installation was to evoke a response, and to expose the absurd reality that millions of animals needlessly die just for small bowls of soup. visitors to the exhibition were asked to sign a petition pledging their support to stop eating the well known ‘delicatessen’, which more than 49,000 people signed. furthermore, over 700,000 online discussions were generated with 120 media outlets reporting the cause, creating over 50 million impressions worldwide.  

the slaughtering process only uses 2% of the shark’s weight for soup, the rest is discarded

a coffin was placed in public places to draw people’s attention and encourage them to say no to eating shark fin soup

the campaign was done in collaboration with IFAW, one of china’s most prominent animal welfare organizations

a child viewing the coffin

last year alone, IFAW recorded 73 million sharks were slaughtered 

project info:

agency: y&r, shanghai
ECD: nils andersson / kon marinis
CD: anam as / handsome wong
art director: handsome wong
desinger: handsome wong
copywriter: yin-yin wu / joana mosa
typographer: leslis sim / jack li
producer: nicolo miao 

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