National Outreach Campaign

Wildlife Alliance's Thai partner, PeunPa, is conducting a national outreach program in Thailand with the support and engagement of USAID and the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. The "Sold Out" campaign targets middle-class Thai consumers as well as foreign tourists through public outreach at the Jatujak (JJ) Market, famous for its legal and illegal sales of wildlife and pets, as well as sites including Bangkok shopping malls, magazines such as Marie Claire in Thai, and other venues. Partnering on the project was the private advertising firm J. Walter Thompson, which designed the advertising and media strategy, which features beautiful pictures of rare animals as reminders of what will happen if wildlife consumption is not stopped.

At the launch of the "Sold Out" campaign in February 2007, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce spoke out to educate the public about the dangers of the illegal wildlife trade. The event was undertaken through Wildlife Alliance with support from USAID and the State Department. At the launch, the Prime Minister and Ambassador were joined by the Governor of Bangkok, Apirak Kosayothin, and key representatives from the Royal Thai Police, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

The campaign intends to develop new multilingual outreach to address Chinese and Japanese tourists as well, who often frequent the JJ Market for the exotic pet trade.