The Hindu berates the 'valiant human spirit' as we mourn the death of our pregnant elephant

For World Environment Day, it carried out a full-page ad telling how we ended the elephant's reign and will destroy the environment without an iota of guilt.

The country is appalled right now and we've got nobody but our species to blame. A pregnant elephant had wandered into a village in Kerala where the residents fed her a pineapple filled with firecrackers. The fruit exploded in her mouth gravely injuring her.

She roamed in and around the village in searing pain but nobody helped. And then she went and stood inside a river hoping the water will ease her pain. She died standing in the water, so did her unborn calf.

The Hindu in its front page jacket on World Environment Day (June 5, 2020) has tipped its hats to the incredible courage of the humans. The full-page communication acknowledges the mighty elephant, "The elephant. The uncrowned king of the jungle. The largest animal on land. Over 5 tons of brute force. It roams the jungle like it owns it, because it does..."

This doesn't mean we humans are second to best. No, the copy further reads, "We are fearless. We crawl up, with our puffed-up chests, straight into the elephant's territory. Armed with merely a high-powered rifle, we sneak up on the majestic beast. Then, with a gentle squeeze of the trigger, we end the elephant's reign."

It's an ode to the valiant human. However, the copy acknowledges the tiny virus that has brought us to our knees and how the nature of balance has shifted. "It has slowed us down, allowing the rest of the species to catch up. The hunter has become the hunted. The destroyer has become the destructible."

But, it certainly doesn't mean humans are down and out. "But we will be back. We will return with more audacity than ever before. We will tear down the environment without an iota of guilt or fear...," reads the copy.

The last two sentences sum it up, "We will grab power back, with every tool at our disposal. Except for our conscience, the one tool that makes us human in the first place."

Also Read: And here's what the writer of this ad has to say about it...

Earlier, on March 3, 2020, that is World Wildlife Day, The Hindu had carried another ad called, 'Meet The Dumbest Creature On The Planet'. The copy spoke about how the ‘stupid’ sea turtles' can't differentiate between a plastic bag and a jellyfish; supposedly its favourite food and it's on the brink of extinction because it has gobbled up so much plastic.

Ogilvy is behind both these pieces of communication for The Hindu.