The Wild Algorithm

Medals Won

• 🥉 BRONZE – Best Use of Social
• 🥉 BRONZE – Most Outstanding Creative

Campaign Overview

Animal trafficking is a growing crisis in Brazil, with 35 million wild animals trafficked annually, exacerbated by social media platforms. Many users unknowingly contribute to the issue by engaging with videos and posts featuring exotic animals, which amplifies their reach through platform algorithms.

To combat this, Ampara, Brazil’s leading animal protection organization, launched The Wild Algorithm, an educational campaign designed to reeducate social media algorithms and raise awareness about the relationship between online engagement and wildlife trafficking.

Creative Concept

The campaign revolved around resetting social media algorithms to stop amplifying harmful content:

• Real-World Exhibit: Installed traffickers’ cages displaying phones playing social media content of wild animals in São Paulo, driving home the connection between online behavior and trafficking.
• Influencer Advocacy: Partnered with influential creators to amplify the campaign’s message and encourage participation in Reset Day.
• Reset Day Activation: A dedicated day where millions of users were encouraged to adjust their social media settings to block content promoting wild animal exploitation.
• Data-Driven Insight: Leveraged advanced taxonomy engineering and data modeling to highlight the role of algorithms in driving demand for exotic pets.

Execution Strategy

1. Educational Outreach: Used exhibitions and digital content to educate audiences on how their social media behavior impacts wildlife trafficking.
2. Influencer-Led Movement: Engaged trusted figures to spread awareness and drive participation in Reset Day.
3. Cross-Platform Engagement: Combined on-the-ground activations with robust digital campaigns across Instagram and other platforms.

Impact and Results

The campaign achieved transformative results:

• 12.1 million users reeducated their algorithms through Reset Day participation.
• 111 million total impressions globally.
• 15% reduction in monkey purchase intent, with corresponding declines for parrots (6%) and snakes (5%).
• 12% decrease in engagement with harmful wild animal content on Instagram.
• Spurred increased public and political awareness, resulting in new law enforcement actions targeting animal trafficking networks.

Why It Worked

By combining emotional storytelling, data-driven insights, and actionable steps, The Wild Algorithm empowered users to take meaningful action against wildlife trafficking. Its innovative approach transformed social media from a driver of harm into a tool for change, setting a precedent for tackling systemic issues through digital activism.