Bringing back the most
formidable extinct creature
to warn humanity of
our own demise.
CLIENT UNDP SCOPE FILM + GLOBAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN + PR
Don't Choose
Extinction
The world continues subsidizing fossil fuels while warning about climate collapse. So the United Nations Development Programme decided to say the quiet part out loud.
In a film launched during the United Nations General Assembly, a dinosaur stormed into the UN and delivered a blunt message to world leaders: “Don’t choose extinction.”
Because if dinosaurs had the chance to warn us before disappearing, they probably would have.
"Frankie the Dinosaur
tells the world not
to choose extinction."
RESULTS
2.2+ BILLION VIEWS GLOBALLY
Turning climate policy into mainstream cultural conversation.
COVERAGE ACROSS 70+ COUNTRIES
Turning a policy issue into mainstream cultural discussion.
4,000+ MEDIA MENTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD
Covering the campaign across news, culture, politics, and environmental media.
VOICED IN 39 LANGUAGES
And translated into more than 60 languages globally.
The message was further amplified by major cultural voices including Greta Thunberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Billie Eilish amongst others, who helped push climate urgency deeper into mainstream culture and younger audiences worldwide.
2.2 Billion views
worldwide. With
zero media budget.
Translated
into more than 60 languages.
BACKGROUND
Climate communication had become increasingly ineffective. Most messaging relied on fear, statistics, or institutional language that audiences had learned to ignore. The challenge wasn’t information.
It was attention.
At the same time, climate education often struggled to connect emotionally with younger audiences and broader culture. The opportunity was to communicate urgency through something universally recognizable:
a dinosaur warning humanity not to repeat its mistake.
EXECUTION
The film featured a fully CGI dinosaur speaking directly inside the UN General Assembly. Using humor, sarcasm, and uncomfortable truth, the dinosaur called out humanity’s continued investment in fossil fuels despite overwhelming scientific warning. The contrast between absurdity and reality became the campaign’s emotional engine.
EXTENDING THE CAMPAIGN
The campaign expanded globally through cinemas, schools, social media, environmental conferences, and public institutions.
Countries like Japan and Colombia, incorporated Frankie the Dino into climate education initiatives, environmental events, and political communication around conservation and sustainability.
The dinosaur became a globally recognizable symbol for climate urgency, helping the UNDP communicate with younger audiences in a dramatically more culturally fluent way.
