Hyundai: Forests Without Names
Hyundai tasked BBDO New York with increasing public awareness of marine conservation. The challenge was that vital sea forests were invisible to the public and lacked formal recognition. The client wanted a global campaign that moved beyond traditional corporate sustainability messaging to actively involve the public in protecting these ecosystems, ultimately driving both awareness and tangible environmental impact.
Creative Idea
Giving names to anonymous sea forests to make them visible and worth protecting.
Hyundai gave unnamed sea forests an identity and a place on the map, transforming invisible marine ecosystems into recognized, protected landmarks through a global naming initiative that bridged the gap between environmental restoration and public consciousness.
Giving Identity to the Invisible Deep
Mapping the Uncharted
To bridge the gap between abstract marine conservation and public empathy, the team utilized satellite imagery and underwater drone footage to identify previously undocumented kelp forests. By integrating these coordinates into digital mapping platforms, the campaign moved beyond traditional advertising to create a functional, permanent record of these ecosystems. The project culminated in the restoration of a 3.96 square kilometer site off the coast of Ulsan, South Korea, which is now officially monitored for its capacity to sequester 1,300 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Global Participation and Reach
The campaign relied on a two-phase rollout to build momentum. The April 3, 2026 teaser generated 7 million views, setting the stage for the April 22, 2026 launch of the full narrative film, which reached 51 million views. A core component of the engagement strategy was the crowdsourcing of names for the Australian sea forest. Through social media voting, the public selected the name "Yangga Forest", transforming a nameless underwater patch into a community-recognized landmark.
Environmental Advocacy
The initiative was bolstered by the involvement of David de Rothschild, the founder of Voice for Nature. His expertise in environmental storytelling helped frame the campaign not just as a corporate sustainability effort, but as a scientific endeavor to categorize and protect "blue carbon" sinks. This focus on data-driven conservation earned the project a Bronze Lion in the Creative Data category at the 2026 Cannes Lions, highlighting the industry's shift toward rewarding measurable ecological outcomes over purely aesthetic brand messaging.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Hyundai leveraged its existing marine restoration expertise and government partnerships to provide a platform for global environmental advocacy.
Category
Automotive brands typically focus on vehicle performance or traditional sustainability metrics rather than mapping unnamed natural ecosystems.
Customer
People feel a desire to protect the planet but often lack tangible, local ways to engage with complex marine conservation.
Culture
The rising global focus on Earth Month and biodiversity loss created a perfect environment for actionable, nature-based storytelling.
Company
Hyundai leveraged its existing marine restoration expertise and government partnerships to provide a platform for global environmental advocacy.
Category
Automotive brands typically focus on vehicle performance or traditional sustainability metrics rather than mapping unnamed natural ecosystems.
Strategy:
Grant identity to overlooked environmental assets to drive public engagement and formal conservation status.
Customer
People feel a desire to protect the planet but often lack tangible, local ways to engage with complex marine conservation.
Culture
The rising global focus on Earth Month and biodiversity loss created a perfect environment for actionable, nature-based storytelling.
Strategy:
Grant identity to overlooked environmental assets to drive public engagement and formal conservation status.
Strategy Technique
Make the Invisible Visible
Hyundai identifies a critical environmental blind spot where unnamed sea forests lack legal or social recognition. By giving them names, the brand makes these vital ecosystems impossible to ignore.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Spotlight the Overlooked
The campaign identifies vital but ignored underwater ecosystems and brings them into the public eye. By naming these forests, it forces the audience to acknowledge their existence and ecological importance.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign stands out due to its poetic copywriting and stunning underwater cinematography, which personify the ocean's ecosystems to build an emotional connection.
The underwater camera work captures the scale, light, and movement of the kelp forests with breathtaking clarity.
The first-person perspective of the sea forest is simple, evocative, and effectively drives the campaign's core message.
