The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2021–2022
UN Global Compact strands a castaway on a drought island to make it disappear
After Brazil’s worst drought raised an island in a reservoir, Global Compact put a castaway on it whose online posts made the island itself the campaign
United Nations Global Compact
What it had to solve
In 2021 the Amazon rainforest faced a record number of illegal forest fires which, compounded by climate change, produced the biggest drought in history. The situation became so critical that an island formed inside one of the largest water reservoirs in Brazil — a visible new landmark that was really a measure of how much water was gone.
How it works
In 2021 the Amazon rainforest faced a record number of illegal forest fires which, compounded by climate change, produced the biggest drought in history. The situation became so critical that an island formed inside one of the largest water reservoirs in Brazil — a visible new landmark that was really a measure of how much water was gone.
To call attention to the water crisis, the Global Compact created what it billed as the first environmental campaign to help make an island disappear. The island was used as an out-of-home opportunity: a castaway was placed there and posted online about his daily routine and the water crisis, turning the reservoir into a living billboard.
As his posts spread, the castaway became a genuine digital influencer, interacting with everyone from journalists to businesses. The work is preserved in the D&AD awards archive under Experiential: Activation & Participation and Digital Marketing.
Why it lands
- The island was proof of the crisis that nobody could argue with — water had fallen so far that new land appeared.
- Using the island itself as the medium meant the campaign’s message and its evidence were the same object.
- A castaway’s daily posts gave an abstract drought a human routine audiences could follow and share.
- Journalists and businesses engaging with the castaway carried the water story far beyond advertising media.
What it did
As his posts spread, the castaway became a genuine digital influencer, interacting with everyone from journalists to businesses. The work is preserved in the D&AD awards archive under Experiential: Activation & Participation and Digital Marketing.
What you can take
When a crisis leaves a visible symptom, make the symptom the medium: a stranded person’s daily posts give a shrinking reservoir a human story people follow
Since then
Sink This Island turned an environmental disaster into ongoing content: the castaway posted his routine from the island, became a digital influencer and drew journalists and businesses into the story, all while the campaign’s goal was to make the island disappear again. The work is preserved in the D&AD awards archive under the Experiential and Digital Marketing categories.
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