Brutal New PSA Reveals the Horrors of Shark Fishing in Hong Kong

Ogilvy & Mather has launched a new Public Service Announcement that targets Hong Kongers’ vast consumption of shark fin soup, in the face of the species’ threatened extinction. The film, which will air on YouTube and Facebook, pulls no punches in demonstrating the horrific consequences of the territories’ age-old, popular menu item.

Sharks have been on the planet for more than 400 million years, but in the last 15 years overfishing has sharply reduced their numbers. Hong Kong is one of the largest consumers of shark fins, and shark fin soup is often served at weddings because of its ancient associations with wealth and prosperity. Over 98% of a sample of 375 traditional Chinese restaurants surveyed offered shark fin on their 2016 Chinese New Year menus.

Ogilvy & Mather’s film depicts the graphic reality of sharks being hunted for their fins and cruelly left to die in the ocean. Targeting younger audiences, it shows a Hong Kong bride and groom on their wedding day, cutting off a shark’s fin on a boat. The powerful message is intended to remind audiences that for every typical wedding in Hong Kong, 30 sharks die unnecessarily.

“We are enormously proud of our partnership with Hong Kong Shark Foundation and WildAid, and are 100% supportive of the important work they do,” said Reed Collins, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong. “Our PSA will challenge the traditional practices of Hong Kongers and ask them to step up for the sake of sharks, who are a critical part of the world’s precious marine ecosystem,” he added.