Since 1978, the Rainbow Warrior had been Greenpeace’s most important vessel – the ship from which it bore witness and took action across the world’s oceans. By 2011, it had reached the end of its life. Greenpeace needed to build a new one, the first purpose-built environmental campaigning ship ever constructed. And it needed to fund it.
We built anewwarrior.com – an e-commerce platform where 400,000 pieces of the new ship were placed for sale, ranging from €1 to €7,000. Every buyer received a certificate of ownership. Their name would appear on the Contribution Wall onboard the actual vessel. A 3D tour of the ship’s architectural plans was available online. Crew members told their stories in video. The purchase became participation: you did not donate, you owned a piece of history.
The certificates flooded social networks. The new Rainbow Warrior was officially launched on October 14, 2011. At the One Show Interactive, A New Warrior won Best of Show. The D&AD jury awarded a Yellow Pencil for Interface & Navigation and a Pencil for Direct Response.
400,000 virtual planks sold across 200 countries. The new Rainbow Warrior was fully funded and launched October 14, 2011.
