Nature is watching – and it’s angry in new NSW EPA litter prevention work via 303 MullenLowe

It’s a simple truth – nature hates a tosser. And one at the core of a new NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) awareness campaign developed by 303 MullenLowe, aimed at changing the behaviour of daily and weekly litterers.

The new Nature Hates a Tosser campaign personifies native wildlife as watchful and angry rather than innocent and helpless, to target an audience that will often make excuses for littering, or assume it’s okay if no-one sees them doing it.

The new campaign builds on and reimagines the highly successful 11-year-old NSW EPA ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ platform.  It will be seen from this week across TV, BVOD, SVOD, radio, digital and social, OOH and across CALD assets (film, social, radio).  Local Governments across NSW will also utilise assets to ensure maximum visibility.

303 MullenLowe Sydney’s Chief Strategy Officer Jody Elston said by portraying furious birds and turtles confronting litterers, Nature Hates a Tosser and its “disruptive tonality” aimed to make people reconsider their act of littering as harmless, and understand the real harm it causes to wildlife and waterways: “We know that anonymity increases people’s propensity to litter. Young men in particular are less likely to drop litter when people are around or they are closer to home, so we needed to shift from evoking social shame when people are watching, to personal shame in the moment. To ensure their emotional response would over-ride convenience led excuses.

“Our secondary research illuminated a famous psychological experiment whereby the presence of eyes simulates an authority figure watching and works to curb people’s negative behaviour even when alone. We leveraged this cognitive influence and showed nature’s angry eyes watching to bring the real impact on wildlife and waterways closer to the littering behaviour.”

The Nature Hates a Tosser campaign is the first executed by 303 MullenLowe since being appointed by NSW EPA earlier this year as the result of a competitive pitch. Utilising its strong behaviour change expertise, the agency undertook extensive research to ensure its approach would engage the  male target demographic aged 18-44.

It then worked closely with NSW EPA  and the Litter Prevention Unit to deliver a campaign strategy, creative platform and communications architecture, while also executing all production.

Says NSW EPA Director, Corporate Affairs Vanessa Grimm: “Tosser has been highly successful at driving home litter prevention messages since first airing in 2014.  But we know that despite these efforts, there is still a group within our communities that will litter using excuses like ‘there wasn’t a bin nearby’ or ‘it’s only a small wrapper or bottle top’.

“We hope by showing that nature is watching and angry, these litterers will understand and acknowledge the impact their littering has, and ultimately change their behaviour.  We’re excited to see this come to life across multiple platforms and formats.”

Nature Hates a Tosser is the latest in a string of behaviour change campaigns executed by 303 MullenLowe, which has received multiple accolades for its work in the area.  These include a Silver Effie for ‘Insight and Strategic Thinking’ and a Bronze ‘Positive Change’ Effie for its ‘Arrows’ campaign developed with the Cancer Institute NSW at the 2024 Australian Effie Awards.  It also scooped two Bronze Effies at the Australian Effie Awards in 2022 for its ‘One Drink’ campaign developed for the WA Mental Health Commission in collaboration with Cancer Council WA.

EPA
Linda Kerman – Manager Communications and Marketing
Cat Khuat – Principal Marketing & Campaigns Advisor
Jess Tocker – Senior Marketing & Campaigns Advisor
Jeremy Hartcher – Senior Marketing & Campaigns Advisor
Rupert Saville – Manager Programs

303 MullenLowe Sydney
Joanna Gray – Chief Executive Officer
Bart Pawlak – Chief Creative Officer
Jody Elston – Chief Strategy Officer
Adam Whitehead – Creative Director
Tiara Lowndes – Creative Director
Ben Glasson – Client Service Director
Head of Production – Skye Lanser
Executive Broadcast Producer – Jackie Archer
Head of Design – Alby Furfaro
Executive Creative Director – Sara Oteri

Production Partners
Mitch Green – Director
Rob Steele – Executive Producer, InMotion Films
Sonar Music – Music and Sound

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