December 8, 2009

Joachim Ladefoged for Hopenhagen: Ogilvy’s Global Campaign for the United Nations

Representatives from the 192 countries that make up the United Nations are currently gathered in Copenhagen for the Climate Change Conference, also known as COP 15. Ten days of talks are scheduled until December 18th, aiming to establish official guidelines for reducing emissions from greenhouse gases.

Last September, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon reached out to global advertising agencies for support. After three rounds of intense reviews by the International Advertising Association and the United Nations headquarters in New York, OgilvyEarth’s compelling “Hopenhagen” campaign was chosen as the voice of the conference.

Ogilvy invited several photographers to participate in the project, but there is one in particular that is catching the eye of people around the world. Joachim Ladefoged’s photograph of two boys flexing their arms as Earth’s bodyguards is displayed prominently on a billboard in the center of Copenhagen Square.

Seen already in several news outlets such as BBC News, the image is being picked up by the media and distributed around the world. Ogilvy Creative Director Michael Paterson says, “We think it will become one of the iconic images of the conference.”

Find out who the boys are in the interview with the creative team at Ogilvy and Joachim Ladefoged