A 5 Year Wait to Hijack YouTube’s 20th Anniversary – and Save the Elephants
How long would you be willing to wait for the right creative idea?
For Diederik Jeangout, five years were worth it for the perfect timing.
Back in 2020, the creative was working on an animal welfare campaign, scrolling through his phone during a break. Among the noise, one article and its thumbnail caught his attention.
‘First YouTube Video Celebrates 15th Anniversary’ ran the headline, paired with a screenshot from the platform’s inaugural 19-second clip, ‘Me at the zoo’, uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim. Behind him stood two elephants, visible through the bars of their enclosure.
“And it struck me: Hearing what those elephants had to say after all these years would’ve been a great campaign for the plight of elephants in captivity,” Diederik remembers. “Many things would have changed in that time, but the elephants would probably still be there.”
Above: World Animal Protection 'Us Still at the Zoo'
Diederik’s eureka moment was sudden, but he was patient. Whilst he’d missed the boat for YouTube’s 15th anniversary, he figured there’d be another burst of media coverage once the 20th swung around. So he put a reminder in his calendar, held tight for just under five years, and finally made it happen.
World Animal Protection’s ‘Us Still at the Zoo’ launched on April 23rd this year, the day YouTube turned 20. Shifting the spotlight away from Jawed, the campaign from Belgian creative agency, Happiness, followed up on ‘Me at the zoo’ – now an artefact of internet history viewed almost 360 million times – with the story of one of its unwitting stars: Sumithi the Asian elephant.
The film dives inside the original video, zooming past Jawed to focus on Sumithi and even show the world from her perspective. That’s where waiting five years to make the film really paid off: AI is what made the visuals possible.
“Five years ago, AI wasn’t nearly as interesting as it is now. In the beginning, we were really struggling to find a way to bring this story to life that was feasible for an NGO with very limited funds. We were thinking of making it fully in 3D/CGI, but that would've been a massive undertaking, and shooting live wasn’t an option since using elephants as animal actors is of course a big no-no when making the point that we humans shouldn’t use animals to our advantage.”
“Fast forward a few years later and suddenly this AI video thing is really taking off.” Having made two fully AI films before, Diederik felt comfortable with the technology, aware of both its limits and potential. “It was a no-brainer to use this approach as it made a story come to life in a way that wouldn’t have been possible with more conventional methods,” he says. It also made it possible to ‘shoot’ and edit the film simultaneously, making it easier to experiment with sequences, transitions, and overall scenes.
Happiness had the luck of working with Bine Studio and AI artist 10-D, who “really invested a lot of effort and love into bringing this project to life.” Diederik reflects on the collaboration: “10-D has a traditional filmmaking background yet has already extensive experience in making AI films as well, which made him the perfect partner in keeping the visuals exciting but also within the context of a strong narrative piece. We had a great ping-pong in finding the ideal approach and ultimately the film it came to be.”
To bring Sumithi to life sonically, Happiness needed to find a voice to match an elderly female elephant. Searching hard to uncover the right one, they recorded the chosen voice actress in several different tones, finding the best fit to be a calm, measured speaking voice to align with the mannerisms of older characters. Diederik explains, “They have seen it all and know the nuances of life, so they don’t feel the need to overly exaggerate their choice of words or general tone. We think we found a voice that really captured the emotion of the story without having to be dramatic or overly emotional at all.”
Even with the involvement of AI, the truth of the story keeps ‘Us Still at the Zoo’ feeling grounded, heartfelt, and genuinely moving. Sumithi is real, and her tragic ending – dying after 48 years in captivity – is real. The campaign’s impact is proof of this.
“Hearing feedback from people that aren’t necessarily invested [in the topic] and hearing how the story really touched them is something we’re really proud of. The launch of the campaign has reached 457 news outlets in the US, with a 200.8 million total potential audience. And while we hijacked the 20th anniversary of YouTube’s first video, it’s a story that can live on for a long time.
“The campaign was launched by World Animal Protection USA, but other WAP regions/countries are preparing to share the campaign as well, with WAP Africa already having done so.”
It may be too late to free Sumithi, but the film ends on a call to action to save others – in particular, Joyce, an African elephant currently living in captivity at a Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey. World Animal Protection is campaigning for Six Flags to rehome her and four other elephants at the theme park in accredited sanctuaries and shut down its elephant exhibit for good.
You can help rescue Joyce here.
For more behind-the-scenes stories from your favourite campaigns, click here.
Learn more about Happiness here.
Read more from Zara Naseer here.
