Tuvalu enters the Metaverse: The Monkey’s Ford on stretching creative thinking beyond the traditional scope of advertising

To highlight the urgency of the rising sea levels that threaten its shores, the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has partnered with The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, Collider and Thrive PR to co-create the beginnings of the first digital nation.

The Monkeys were introduced to the Government of Tuvalu through mutual partners the agency had worked with on other sustainability-related projects, working with the nation on a campaign that is both “a practical manifestation of the process to migrate a threatened nation online, and a sobering wake-up call to the world”, according to The Monkeys chief creative officer, Tara Ford.

During a three-minute address at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) by Simon Kofe, the Minister of Justice, Communication & Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, announced that due to the ongoing effects of climate change, Tuvalu may eventually be forced to move its country entirely online. The video address, created by The Monkeys and Collider, provides an example of what a digital future for the nation could look like when, during Kofe’s speech, it was slowly revealed that he was delivering it from a digital islet in the metaverse.