Introducing audiences to its new crab mascots, OceanSaver’s first TV appearance, ‘The Ocean will Thank You’, capitalises on the power of positivity to promote plastic-free cleaning products.

In partnership with Blue Marine Foundation, marine conservationists, the brand-building campaign, created by Heart and Minds uses humour and weirdness to engage audiences with its eco-friendly messaging.

A 30-second video introduces audiences to Gareth, a man doing his laundry with OceanSaver plastic-free capsules. When he grabs the pack, a blue crab, ‘Bluey’, emerges and greets him, “alright Gareth?”. A nervous Gareth nods before Bluey calls on more crab friends to join in on singing a pirate-style song of praise, a jingle performed by the Bristolian sea shanty group, The Longest Johns.

Through the song, the crabs, Bluey, Lil’ Hermit, Fiddler, and Hairy Harry all thank Gareth for switching to plastic-free cleaning. The crabs also make a light-hearted joke about him still wearing skinny jeans at his age.

The song ends with “thanks from the ocean and from all of us, we hope you don’t mind we broke into your house”.

Weird and wacky, the short film encourages consumers to make eco-conscious shopping habits. It showcases OceanSaver’s alternative to many other cleaning products on the market that have harmful chemicals in their single-use plastic.

Where each year 28 billion single-use plastic products containing these chemicals are created, OceanSaver creates plastic-free, plant-based laundry products, cleaning sprays, and dishwashing products to save ocean life from pollution.

Walking the walk as well as talking the talk, the ad was produced in line with AdGreen standards. Production has minimal carbon usage, which was even triple offset. OceanSaver is also encouraging sharing the ad on YouTube where for every share the brand will donate the price of an oyster to the Blue Marine Foundation. The money will go towards new, restorative oyster reefs in the Solent.

The campaign champions sustainable practices and won one of the 5 spots for the Sky Zero Footprint Fund. The fund provides OceanSave £250,000 worth of TV media over Sky Media’s TV channels.

The spot puts a positive spin on taking action against climate change to encourage behaviour change with positive reinforcement rather than fear-mongering.

“This category, and eco-comms in general, so often deploy shock tactics or shame as a way to influence people’s purchases. Which just isn’t very effective”. Says Andy George, Founder of Hearts and Minds.

Instead, OceanSaver and Hearts and Minds share a “belief in the power of positivity, entertainment, and a simple thank you, to get to Britain buying better for the Ocean and for the planet”.

Not only is the campaign using humour and positivity to encourage eco-conscious shopping habits, OceanSaver puts its money where its mouth is with a host of sustainability initiatives that reinforce its right to play in the space.

With a light-hearted ‘thank you’ to those who help save the ocean, the brand uses humour and mascots to stick in audiences’ minds, increasing brand awareness and knowledge of plastic-free cleaning products without turning people away.