Every year more than 1 billion animals are slaughtered for their skins.

Many of the clothes, shoes and accessories that we wear come from cows, sheep, birds and snakes that are bred for their skin and wool and often suffer in horrific circumstances.

The UK is a nation of animal lovers, and recent years have seen a huge rise in people adopting vegan eating behaviours. However, this concern for animal welfare simply was not translating to their clothing choices, because the grim reality was easy to forget or ignore.

Our objective was to raise awareness of this issue amongst young people aged 25-40 and encourage them to make vegan clothing choices.

However, having previously relied on shock tactics in advertising, the public were switching off to PETA’s messages. We needed to find a softer way to tap into our audience’s compassion for animals, while maintaining impact.

‘Red River Farm’ is a classic children’s TV show but with a twist. The cute puppet protagonists are actually a band of abused animals here to re-educate the public about using animal products in fashion.

Set on a farm reminiscent of classic children’s TV shows of bygone decades, actress and comedian Jessie Cave meets wholesome, seemingly cheery puppet animals who burst into an upbeat, catchy, yet gruesome song about the cruel treatment they endure in the name of fashion.

By taking our audience back to their childhood, we can finally teach them the lesson they should have been taught - if it’s made from animals, it’s made from cruelty.

The film makes the connection between clothes and the animals they came from. It’s still shocking and emotional but it’s presented in a fresh, engaging way that keeps viewers watching instead of turning off. It’s education disguised as entertainment.

Our audience were not uncaring people. Quite the opposite. Issues including climate change; veganism and fast fashion loomed large on their agenda. In fact, they were so bombarded with urgent causes that their cognitive load was full.

By contrast, the issue of clothing origins felt remote. It doesn’t make headlines and we’re not taught about it. Indeed, while meat and fur are clearly sourced at an animal’s expense, wool and leather have a less immediate visual link so it’s easy to forget where these products come from.

We needed to close that gap and make the link between animal cruelty and the clothes we wear impossible to ignore. To re-educate in a way people want to engage with, without finger-wagging or preaching.

With no media spend, we needed a newsworthy idea that would engage publishers; inspire animal-loving influencers with engaged platforms; and challenge news and education platforms to do better.

‘Red River Farm’ is a classic children’s TV show but with a twist. The cute puppet protagonists are actually a band of abused animals here to re-educate the public about using animal products in fashion.

Set on a farm reminiscent of classic children’s TV shows of bygone decades, actress and comedian Jessie Cave meets wholesome, seemingly cheery puppet animals who burst into an upbeat, catchy, yet gruesome song about the cruel treatment they endure in the name of fashion.

It offers an unflinching explanation of how clothes are really made and the consequences for the animals involved. However, the film ends with a message of hope, asking the audience to: “Shop like their lives depend on it”.

With zero media budget, our strategy was to generate reach through relevance and connection with the idea.

We created a newsworthy film to ensure interest from the biggest publishers. It was picked up by titles including the Daily Mail and Metro, with a combined reach of 115 million and an estimated 820K views.

We created resonance with some of the UK’s largest influencers, reaching the networks of: Gemma Collins (2.2m), Jessy Barden (2.1m) and Shabaz Says (1m) among others and generating over 400k views.

We asked traditional media outlets to do better. PETA wrote to CBBC (the UK’s key children’s TV channel) challenging them to broadcast the video to teach children the grim reality and generating PR just for asking.

This increased awareness also changed opinions, with comments like:“Feels like veganism is too focused on the food aspects and people forget the other ways animals are exploited”