GORILLAS NEED ALL THE FRIENDS THEY CAN GET
Deliverables: Concept development, creative direction, film direction, production, campaign assets for retail and digital
Client - The gorilla organization
A comedian, an animatronic gorilla, and a conservation campaign that made people laugh first
Fewer than 900 mountain gorillas left on the planet. A charity with one communications person working one day a week. No creative team. No campaign budget to speak of. We assembled a team, built a concept around humour instead of guilt, and created a four-film series starring Bill Oddie and an animatronic silverback gorilla that was named Ad of the Week by The Drum.
THE CHALLENGE
The Gorilla Organization is a UK charity protecting critically endangered gorillas in Central Africa. Its flagship fundraiser, the Great Gorilla Run, draws hundreds of costumed runners through London each year and has raised over £2.4 million for conservation. But the charity had minimal capacity for creative campaigning, and earnest messaging was not cutting through. The brief was to drive sign-ups for the Great Gorilla Run and encourage monthly gorilla adoptions. The deeper challenge was tonal. The work needed to communicate something serious without relying on sadness or guilt. It needed to make people smile, care, and then act.
APPROACH
STORO chose humour as the way in. We assembled the creative team and developed the concept alongside the Gorilla Organization and production partners Earl Productions. Rather than another documentary-style film, we created two fictional characters: Sir Hilary Inkelsson, a well-meaning but slightly misguided primatologist played by Bill Oddie, and Toby, his adopted silverback gorilla. Bill Oddie was closely involved in shaping the characters. It was a genuine team effort, with strategy, ideas, and production shared across the group.
We directed four short films. The first promoted the Great Gorilla Run. The remaining three encouraged audiences to adopt a gorilla through the charity's monthly giving programme. The production involved an animatronic gorilla operated by three people, extensive foley and sound design work, and silent cutdown versions for screening at Westfield shopping centres across London. A supporting PR agency amplified the campaign across social media, newspapers, and news platforms.
IMPACT
Named Ad of the Week by The Drum, winning a public vote and strong industry support
Launched at the Great Gorilla Run in London
Screened at Westfield shopping centres across London
Covered by Third Sector, the Ham & High, and the Gorilla Organization's own channels
Designed to drive monthly gorilla adoptions, giving the charity a reusable creative asset with a long shelf life