WWF - Panda Invasion

The PR and marketing people for the WWF has a knack for creating impressive, eye-catching promotions and their latest publicity stunt easily lived up to that reputation. This awareness campaign utilized 1,600 panda figurines placed all around the City Hall in Paris. The number of figurines was not chosen arbitrarily and actually possess a special significance - it's the estimated number of pandas still alive on Earth. The result is an installation that works as a very powerful visual metaphor on the dangers of extinction.

The figurines are actually made from environmentally friendly materials: paper machê from recycled paper, water-based inks and rice glue. As cute as they are, I wouldn't be surprised if most of these figurines are stolen within a few days, but that will just strengthen the visual metaphor on the pandas' increasing rate of extinction.