And hopefully its return from the brink of extinction
Simon Clinton’s affinity with tigers started while he was growing up in Malaysia in the early 1970s, and became familiar with the country’s national symbol—the Malayan tiger. This early exposure, along with a passion for conservation issues, stirred the Englishman to set up the global charity initiative Save Wild Tigers in 2011 to protect the world’s tiger population, whose numbers have fallen to critical levels—there are only 3,800 left in the wild.
“For me, the tiger is the most charismatic of all the big cats, intoxicating in its beauty yet facing threats to its very survival. It’s surely one of the planet’s most captivating species, and begs the question: ‘If we can’t save a species as iconic as the tiger, what hope do we have for the rest?’” shares Clinton.
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Ironically, humans are the biggest threat to the survival of wild tigers, which are hunted for their skin, bones and meat—fuelling an illegal wildlife trade worth around £12 billion every year. Furthermore, wild tigers also suffer from the loss of their natural habitat due to factors such as deforestation set off by rapid urbanisation, further increasing the risk of human-animal conflict.
Save Wild Tigers brings a different perspective and approach to tiger conservation with its strong marketing and creative orientation. The corporate and branding worlds have “borrowed” the values and symbolism of tigers for decades—Tiger Beer, Maybank, and ExxonMobil (formerly Esso) and its famous “Put a Tiger in your Tank” advertising campaign, just to name a few—so why not do the same to help the tigers themselves? Clinton taps on his experience in helming the various operations of a global advertising agency network, and now as CEO of his own agency, The Clinton Partnership, to raise awareness of the plight of the world’s last remaining wild tigers.
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