The AFPA launches new ‘Australia, We Need a Tree Change’ campaign via Galore

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has set out a bold plan to get one billion new trees planted across the nation by 2030, in a new campaign via Galore.

 

It is a little-known yet increasingly pressing fact that Australia is on the cusp of a serious nationwide shortage of locally grown timber and wood-based products. Which is why AFPA, as the peak industry body charged with representing the interests of the sustainable timber and forestry sectors, believe now is the time to act. Their goal is to influence government policy and public support to significantly increase the growth of sustainable plantations before the decade ends.

Says Joe Prevedello, communications director at AFPA: “At the current rate of timber production versus usage, Australia is on a path to have massive wood shortages in the future if no action is taken. And the fact is, we desperately need locally grown timber and wood – not just for the construction industries or our collective economy, but to build new homes, reduce our reliance on plastic products, and also contribute to fighting climate change given that harvested timber sequesters a massive amount of carbon.”

Says Tim Kirby, founder at Galore: “The AFPA came to us with a great story that needed telling. There is a clear current problem, but it’s one that brings a multitude of enormous benefits for Australia if we can help to solve it. So, we set about working out the best way to tell that story.”

Written and directed by Nick Snelling, the emotive spots for ‘Australia, we need a tree change’ open with a young girl engrossed in colouring in her school homework project. When her curious father interrupts to ask what she’s doing, she spells out the case to him in simple language as to why Australia should aim to plant one billion new trees.

Says Snelling: “We felt it was vital that we bring the high stakes of an Australian wood shortage home – not just for tradies, who will feel its ramifications first, but for parents. We all know kids possess a simple wisdom and purity of thought that often escapes us as adults. Kids tend to only see the common sense or potential for good in things. So that felt like the perfect way to approach this film.”

Adds Prevedello: “AFPA are delighted with the whole concept of ‘Australia, we need a tree change’. We have the kind of ambitious but achievable goal that we believe a lot of Aussies will rally behind, and who better lay out our argument than a super-smart little girl, whose generation will ultimately inherit the vital decisions we all make today.”

Accompanied by OOH executions, the new AFPA spots will run across commercial television and online platforms throughout April 2022.

CLIENT: Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Ross Hampton
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Joe Prevedello

CREATIVE PARTNER: Galore

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Arjanna van Kan
DIRECTOR & SCRIPTWRITER: Nick Snelling
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Paul van Kan
ASSISTANT CAMERA: Chris Ras
SOUND: Oliver Dibley
GAFFING: Paul van Kan, Chris Ras
GRIP: Bruce Murray
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Nick Snelling
ART DIRECTION: Steve Tomic
ILLUSTRATION & POSTER ART: Alicia Clements
GREENSPERSON: Jaq Snelling
EDITOR: Paul van Kan
SOUND DESIGN: Matt Perrott at MightySound
MUSIC: Jonny Higgins
FILM COLOURIST: Paul van Kan
HAIR & MAKE-UP: Henrietta Iverson