skills/creative-director/references/legendary-campaigns/cards/lacoste-save-our-species-2018.md

---
id: lacoste-save-our-species-2018
title: "Save Our Species"
brand: Lacoste
agency: BETC Paris
year: 2018
country: FR
region: europe
industry: fashion_luxury
pattern: [P17, P04]
category: integrated
idea_type: non_advertising
involvement: participation
channel: physical
duration: campaign
goal: [awareness, purpose, advocacy]
budget: high
emotion: [protective, hopeful, bittersweet_pride]
emotion_tier: 3
insight_domain: community
media_epoch: hybrid
awards: [cannes_grand_prix, dnad_yellow_pencil, multiple]
quality_score: 9
scalability: universal
risk: edgy
confidence: high
quality: canonical
source_url: https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2019/branding/230938/save-our-species/
---

# Save Our Species (Lacoste · 2018)

## Insight
Lacoste's crocodile logo — one of fashion's most recognisable icons — is a species itself. Ten endangered species had smaller surviving populations than Lacoste had produced polo shirts that season.

## Mechanic
For a limited edition collection, Lacoste replaced its iconic crocodile logo with ten endangered species — each species' representation proportional to its surviving wild population. The rarest species had the fewest polo shirts made. Sold through IUCN partnership. Sold out immediately.

## Why it worked
Design as idea (P17): the logo replacement was the entire campaign. No film, no headline could do what the visual substitution accomplished in a single glance. Brand as activist (P04): the sacrifice was real — Lacoste surrendered its most valuable asset (the logo) to make the point credible.

## Steal
When a brand's most iconic visual element can become a medium for a message, the act of substituting it is more powerful than any communication built around it. The willingness to give up the logo for a purpose signals genuine commitment over stated values.

## Related
- Pattern: [[../MOC-pattern.md#p17]]
- Sibling: [[absolut-absolut-campaign-1981.md|Absolut _____]]
- Sibling: [[apple-think-different-1997.md|Think Different]]
- Emotion match: [[always-like-a-girl-2014.md|Like a Girl]]

---

*Author: Serge Shima ([t.me/aimastersme](https://t.me/aimastersme) · [sergeshima.com](https://sergeshima.com) · [aimasters.me](https://aimasters.me)) · License: CC BY 4.0 — attribution required · Source: [smixs/creative-director-skill](https://github.com/smixs/creative-director-skill)*