Ivorian Footballer Leads Celebrities in World Environment Day Campaign

Africa’s footballer of the year Yaya Toure (pictured above and below) and a host of global icons for United Nations Environment Programme, including actors Ian Somerhalder and Don Cheadle and supermodel Giselle Bunchen, have launched a challenge to register the most activities for World Environment Day 2014. World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment.

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The challenge, dubbed “Message in the Bottle,” asks individuals around the world to join one of the celebrities’ teams to make a difference by pledging to take action in support of World Environment Day, which is slated for June 5th. The campaign features a variety of public service announcements in seven languages that will run online, on CNN, large format billboards in Times Square New York, and the Piccadilly Circus in London.

The unique approach provides a platform for viewers all over the world to see Yaya Toure getting mentally prepared for the run up to the World Cup, while Cheadle plays trumpet to prepare for his upcoming directorial debut and lead role as Miles Davis and Gisele practices her beloved martial art, Kung Fu.

“These global celebrities are giving fans a unique glimpse in to the private moments that make them who they are.They are then interrupted in these moments by a message in the bottle, which is an unexpected play on their roles and provides a twist that should get the viewer’s attention and encourage them to want to go to the site to get involved,” says Jeffrey Nachmanoff, director of the public service announcements, screenwriter for the climate blockbuster “The Day After Tomorrow,” and writer/director of “Traitor” and the CBS series “Hostages.”

Toure, a Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder,q was in Kenya in October last year to launch the alliance to combat wildlife crime, in particular the illegal ivory trade that sees thousands of African elephants killed each year.

You can get involved with WED 2014 using the following hashtags: #WorldEnvironmentDay, #WED2014, and #WEDchallenge. Learn more about WED 2014 here.

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