April Reflections
We’re back again with a new roundup of our favorite sources of inspiration and resources from the world of creativity and impact, all through the lens of communication, creativity, and storytelling.
April gave us a lot to reflect on.
With Earth Day on the 22nd (and, fun fact, World Creativity and Innovation Day just before it on the 21st), this month brought a wave of creative campaigns, cultural actions, and some much-needed optimism.
Here’s a look at some of our favorite Earth Day highlights.
This Year’s Earth Day Theme - Our Power, Our Planet
The 2025 Earth Day theme focused on a global transition to renewable energy, calling for a tripling of clean electricity generation by 2030. Across the world, people took to the streets, from youth-led climate marches to cultural gatherings, community cleanups, and artistic interventions.
In the U.S., hundreds of protests and pickets unfolded in the days leading up to Earth Day, driven by resistance to environmental rollbacks under the Trump administration. Following the massive “Hands Off” demonstrations, national organizers teamed up with pro-democracy groups to demand climate justice and the right to live healthy, dignified lives.
Meanwhile, the UN marked April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, a reminder that protecting Earth’s ecosystems isn’t optional. It’s essential to life, wellbeing, and resilience.
Photo by Andrea Renault/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock
Campaigns That Caught Our Eye
Earth Day also brought some beautiful, surprising, and thoughtful creative campaigns. Here are a few that stood out this and past years.
1. EarthDay.org – Our Power, Our Planet Toolkit
EarthDay.org rolled out an open-source campaign toolkit for activists, creatives, and brands, centered on accelerating the global transition to renewable energy. The goal was to make participation easy and collective. The toolkit provided ready-to-use content, visuals, hashtags, and messaging prompts to mobilize individuals, brands, and organizations to take climate action on social media. It encouraged collective storytelling, local engagement, and global visibility.
Why we liked it:
Clear, memorable messaging (like “Renewables Now!”) that anyone can repeat and remix
A unified hashtag strategy to create a global wave
Action-ready resources for easy access and usage
Local adaptation encouraged, so the message feels personal and grounded
Photo by Earthday.org
Explore the TOOLKIT.
2. Sounds Right – Nature as a Musician
The Sounds Right campaign returned this Earth Day with 36 new tracks featuring NATURE, continuing its mission to use music as a tool for environmental awareness and global conversation. The initiative recognizes nature as an artist, weaving natural soundscapes into original compositions. Every stream generates royalties that go toward conservation, turning listening into a tangible act of support.
Why we liked it:
Reframes nature as an artist, not just inspiration
Turns passive listening into a direct act of support
A beautiful example of cross-industry collaboration and creative format innovation
Music as a medium for impact, not just mood
Listen on SPOTIFY.
3. YouTube – Non-Fungible Planet
Back again this year, YouTube’s Non-Fungible Planet campaign used the concept of NFTs to spotlight how irreplaceable our real planet is. The campaign teamed up with creators to explore some of Earth’s most extraordinary and endangered ecosystems, from South Africa’s Sudwala Caves to France’s ancient Carnac Stones.
It aimed to inspire viewers to recognize and protect these one-of-a-kind natural wonders, reinforcing the message that, unlike digital assets, our planet cannot be replicated or replaced.
Why we liked it:
Smart cultural framing — using digital-native language to spark real-world urgency
Creator-led storytelling that felt personal and authentic
Awe over anxiety, using beauty and uniqueness as the hook
A powerful contrast between intangible NFTs and the tangible Earth we stand to lose
Watch on YOUTUBE.
4. Back Market – Hack Market
Back Market launched the “Hack Market” campaign by using Apple’s AirDrop feature to send messages to display devices in Apple Stores across Paris, Berlin, and London. These messages highlighted the environmental benefits of choosing refurbished electronics — nudging people to consider more sustainable alternatives right at the point of purchase.
Why we liked it:
Disrupts the moment of purchase with a better alternative
Surprises people in a familiar setting, creating memorable behavior change
Bold, playful, and rooted in a clear environmental message
Watch on YOUTUBE.
5. Purpose Disruptors – Reclaiming the Commercial Break
“Reclaiming the Commercial Break” was an Earth Day campaign by Purpose Disruptors, aiming to subvert traditional advertising by replacing consumerist messages with ones that encourage reflection, presence, and sustainability. The campaign aired on Sky, Channel 4, and STV, using real ad slots to promote anti-consumerist messages like “Limited time offer: watching the sunset” and “The sale ends when we do.” It invited the ad industry to imagine a world where commercial breaks support climate goals, not just consumption.
It reframed rest, presence, and care as the new premium.
Why we liked it:
Uses ad formats to challenge advertising itself
Turns slowness into a product worth promoting
Invites the creative industry to reimagine its own role in shaping consumption
Shows how irony and format-flipping can create emotional resonance
Photo by Purpose Disruptor
Read more on THE DRUM.
6. Sony BBC Earth – Care for Earth, Care for Life
Sony BBC Earth launched a storytelling-driven campaign featuring three short animated films, each highlighting a critical environmental issue: drought, melting polar ice, and plastic pollution. Told through the eyes of charismatic animal characters (an elephant, a polar bear, and a whale), the series was designed to be accessible, emotional, and engaging for all ages.
The campaign was amplified by a special Earth Day TV lineup of environmental documentaries and Influencer collaborations across social media.
Why we liked it:
Animation makes complexity accessible and emotional
Leading with characters builds connection across ages
Multi-platform rollout helped the message travel further
Earth Day gave it context, but the storytelling gave it staying power
A Final Thought
While putting this together, we noticed there actually weren’t that many Earth Day campaigns. Which made us wonder... why?
For all the urgency around climate and nature, there’s still so much room for more creative storytelling. So much space for more imagination, participation, and cultural relevance.
We’ll explore that a bit more in our next piece. For now, we hope this roundup sparked something.
Thanks for reading!
With Love,
🐋 Yanyie, RAN Collectives
