Bill Nye, the hands-on scientist and TV host who’s equally well known these days for his environmental activism, continues to sound the alarm on climate change in a new PSA for the United Nations.
Staying fully on brand, he doesn’t mince words in this short film.
“Nature is showing us that humankind is on the verge of a breakdown,” he says against images of fires, floods, hurricanes, deforestation and pollution. “At least one million plant and animal species are likely to disappear—soon!”
His urgent voiceover talks of mass extinction and the fragility of life, along with the need to “show our leaders why nature matters” and “ensure we have a future.”
Nye is one of a number of celebrities, kids, biologists, advocates and influencers appearing in the 90-second spot, dubbed “Time for Nature,” which sounds a hopeful note while urging people to “wake up” and spread the earth-first gospel to government and corporate decision makers.
The spot was created to mark today as World Environment Day.
“We can fix this,” Nye says, “but only if we act now.”
Nye, an occasional ad pitchman, recently starred in a Super Bowl commercial for SodaStream. The galactic-themed spot pushed the brand’s sustainability message.
From directors Benjamin Ryan Nathan and Robert Gregson, the visually arresting content of the new spot starring Nye and others was produced remotely, using videos shot on cellphones mixed with stock footage of plants, animals, and disasters both natural and unnatural.
It’s the third video from All of Us Films for the UN Environment Program’s World Environment Day activations, with famous faces like Colombian musician Carlos Vives, American pop star Billie Eilish, BBC broadcaster Ben Fogle and Mari Copeny, a young Michigan-based activist known as Little Miss Flint.
See the previous campaigns, with boldface names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Moby, Don Cheadle, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, below.
CREDITS:
Production, Postproduction: All of Us Films
Writer, Co-Director, Producer: Benjamin Ryan Nathan
Co-Director, Editor: Robert Gregson
Producer: Johanna Shapiro
Producer: Jacqueline Dow
Executive Producer: Florian Fussstetter
Original Music Composed by Jerome Korman and Micha Gilad for Jerome Korman Music
Mix: Hernan Marchesi at Ocho Records
Client: UN Environment Program
Produced in Partnership with PCI Media Impact
https://www.adweek.com/creativity/bill-nye-billie-eilish-and-more-rally-support-for-the-planet-in-world-environment-day-psa/