ZSL London Zoo: Comedians Join Sir David Attenborough to Save ZSL's Zoos

A host of celebrities are lining up behind Sir David Attenborough to support ZSL London Zoo in its hour of need. Airing from Monday night on Channel 5 and Sky channels the campaign, created by creative, data and tech agency Wunderman Thompson UK, features the likes of Jonathan Ross, Catherine Tate and Meera Syal. The famous voices come to life through zoo animals plotting ways to save the zoo - including a technologically inept giraffe, two hip hash-tagging #lemurs and a spiritual gorilla. Due to Covid-19 the zoos have been closed for almost three months, the first time London Zoo has closed since the Blitz in 1940, when it was shut for less than two weeks. With no grant or emergency funding, the closure, and loss of income from zoo visitors, has put huge pressure on the charity zoos, whose 20,000 animals cost £1million to care for month - as well as affecting ZSL’s vital global conservation work. The campaign calls on the public to help save the zoo by donating through the JustGiving fundraising website or by text. Through a series of episodes, we meet the zoo’s new marketing department – the zoo’s animals. Bob the emperor tamarin monkey, voiced by Bill Bailey, chairs a zoo marketing meeting with his furred and feathered ‘colleagues’ to discuss how to raise urgent funds, with Bhanu - London Zoo’s male Asiatic lion - landing on the winning idea through an accidental screen freeze. The hero shot of Bhanu’s open mouth as he yawns, creating the perfect place for the headline 'Help us stay open', has been developed into a poster campaign now live across London sites such as Box Park. The first phase of the appeal, launched last week by Sir David Attenborough, has attracted the support of a flock of famous comedians, including Bill Bailey, Alan Carr, Dane Baptiste and Shazia Mirza, who are all voicing zoo animals for the light-hearted television advert with a serious message.