Hidden Sea celebrates ocean clean-up milestone with new campaign

Eco wine brand The Hidden Sea – the Aussie brand that removes one kilo of plastic from the ocean for every case of wine sold – has launched a major new ad campaign after removing ten million bottles in the last 18 months.

The company, which works with Danish firm The ReSea Project on its ocean clean-up mission, is launching a new campaign to encourage consumers to join its efforts, which has been devised and will be fronted by respected British marine biologist, Madeline St Clair.

The compelling video is an “emotionally charged” letter from the sea to drive home the message that people needs to consumers to work together to rid the ocean of single-use plastics. It is being supported by an integrated PR and digital campaign that will urge consumers to become “changemakers” and help the brand achieve its target to remove  one billion bottle by 2030.

The Hidden Sea’s co-founder Justin Moran said that smashing this milestone demonstrated that consumers—when given the opportunity—could make “more socially-conscious meaningful choices” if they were placed at the heart of a movement.

“But the job is not done; we’re on a mission to remove one billion by 2030. To achieve this goal, more support is vital—so, we’ll be investing heavily to sound the alarm, drive awareness, get the support of further retailers, and drive consumers to store,” he said.

Marine biologist Madeline St Clair, described it as a wonderful example of how businesses can affect change when they put the planet at the centre of their focus.

“The world’s oceans are vital to the health of the planet and the simple truth is that plastic, of any kind, does not belong in the world’s waters,” she said.

St Clair recently returned from an eco-expedition to untouched parts of Greenland with Groundtruth and the Hidden Sea in order to document plastic and climate change in areas that are only now accessible due to the melting sea ice.

“Though most of the ocean we encountered appeared to be pristine, to see visible plastic pollution in such remote areas was sobering,” she said.

“To truly make a difference, we need to pull together in order to affect change and reverse the devastation caused by single use plastic.”

The Hidden Sea has partnered with Climate Active in order to be licensed carbon neutral on its range of wines from the 2021 vintage onwards. The company is in the process of measuring its carbon footprint from grape to glass.

The company launched its ambitious target to reach 1 billion bottles by 2030 in July 2020, and attributes its growth since then to the simple, powerful message that can be easily understood.

Speaking to db last year, Moran said that retailers were increasingly prepared to get behind a movement that consumers wanted to support.

“The world has changed – people are starting to realised that we need to make changes, and work with companies that are making change. And retailers are thinking that too,” he explained.

We’re not just creating just another drinking moment, it’s a movement, it drives our social, engagement and the brand.”

The Hidden Sea, which is distributed by Kingsland Drinks in the UK, is available in Sainsbury’s and the Coop, has been growing its global footprint with accounts with Walmart in the US, one of Australia’s biggest distributors, Oakley Fine Wines. It is also in Thailand, Denmark, and Sweden among others.