How’s this for an iconic image? The digital cover of Attitude magazine, April 2022…
Four cover stars brought together in one striking collaboration to highlight a vital topic – the plight of our oceans, and the often overlooked role they play in the climate crisis.
There was the recognisable face of Bimini – RuPaul’s Drag Race UK finalist [2021] and environmental champion. Alongside them, two exciting young LGBTQ+ eco-leaders – marine biologist Dawood Qureshi and Student Climate Network volunteer Noga Levy-Rapoport. Completing the line-up: BBC wildlife presenter, director and zoologist Dan O’Neill.
The visual vibe? As one stylist on the photoshoot quipped, the look was “Westwood Shipwreck”.
Behind the scenes, this cover feature article, photoshoot and video mini-documentary was a couple of months in the making.
People care about and are fascinated by our seas, as the ongoing popularity of the BBC’s Blue Planet programmes have shown. But we can see the ocean as ‘other.’ It can feel ‘over there’, and not recognised as a vital life-support system. Heard came to work with the production team behind Blue Planet II in 2021 to create innovative content that helps move the ocean conversation forward.
Together we created SeaOurFuture – a digital storytelling project to inspire change for our oceans. It’s a resource to support those with a platform – celebrities to grassroots campaigners – to use their voice to create change.
The Attitude piece was an example of this resource coming to life.
Before the day of the photoshoot and interview Heard worked with Dan O’Neill to explore how audiences feel about the ocean – and the ways communicators can connect with people who less engaged in conservation and environmentalism.
The piece highlighted how many ways people connect with the marine world – from family history to personal wellbeing, creative inspiration to scientific fascination.
“You have to view the ocean as an extension of yourself. It’s something we live, breathe in. It’s the lungs of our planet,” says Dawood Qureshi in the article. They add: “The whole point of this shoot is literally intersectionality. Marrying different perspectives and pushing forward a message in that creation.”
This campaign had a tremendous impact. Bringing ocean health to the attention of Attitude‘s substantial following – the two digital covers generated 110K likes and engagements – but also extending to the audiences of the cover stars involved.
Worth revisiting the accompanying film, too…
