Businesses Honored for Being `WILD'; Animal Planet, AEP, Jaguar Cars, and Home Depot Receive Awards for Wildlife Support.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2000

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The WILD Foundation honored national and international corporations and their advertising agencies for mounting advertising campaigns featuring wild nature, and concurrently donating funds to support wilderness and wildlife.

The WILD Awards: Advertising with Integrity for Wild Nature, rewards companies and their advertising agencies for "giving back" to the wild nature featured in their advertising.

Winners received their WILD Awards at the second annual Wild Awards luncheon at the United Nations in New York. Awardees include Animal Planet cable network (Lifetime Achievement Award); American Electric Power and HMS Hallmark (International Excellence); Jaguar Cars and Green Team Advertising, Inc. (National Excellence); and Home Depot and The Richards Group (Regional Excellence).

"Corporate marketers and their ad agencies have intrinsic value in the cultural influence they wield," said Sali Randel, founder of the WILD Awards. "Connecting the use of wild animals and pristine nature with social responsibility creates a significant cultural, actionable business standard."

Lifetime Achievement Award

Featuring wild nature in their advertising and programming is Animal Planet's trademark. Animal Planet's core mission is to create television programming that informs and educates viewers while celebrating the indelible connections between humans and animals.

International Excellence

American Electric Power (AEP) and their ad agency, HMS Hallmark, received the International Excellence Award for their "Wilds" campaign featuring giraffes, and for protecting wild animals and wilderness in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In its operations AEP accords environmental protection the same priority as safety, quality and productivity.

National Excellence

Being honored for its partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to produce "Jaguar Saving Jaguars" campaign, Jaguar Cars and agency Green Team Advertising, Inc. garnered the National Excellence Award. Jaguar Cars, Ltd. will donate $1 million to the Bronx-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) over the next five years to help establish a new jaguar research program. Jaguar Cars, Ltd. also supports an action plan of science, education and training.

U.S. Regional

Home Depot and The Richards Group received the Regional Excellence Award for their commercial featuring pandas Lun-Lun and Yang-Yang in their new Zoo Atlanta home. Through their commitment to Zoo Atlanta, Home Depot constructed the Panda Habitat and donated $1 million to the panda exhibit over the next five years, and played an integral role in bringing the pandas from China to the U.S. to educate the public.

Joseph R. Daly Award

Dr. Wouter van Hoven, a professor of wildlife management at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and an internationally recognized wildlife lecturer, will be given the Joseph R. Daly Award for Excellence in Communication for Wild Nature. Dr. van Hoven's most recent accomplishment involved transporting wildlife back to Angola, where civil war had destroyed most of the natural life.

Recipients of last year's WILD Awards - Mutual of Omaha, Nedbank South Africa, Canon USA, and Georgia Power - attended and presented the awards.

About UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is unique among UN bodies. As the environmental conscience of the UN, its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnerships to care for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising future generations. UNEP coordinates the environmental activities of all the UN agencies and works with the cooperation and participation of international scientific and professional communities, and governments and non-governmental organizations.

About the WILD Foundation

The WILD Foundation is a not-for-profit organization working worldwide for wilderness, wildlife and people. From widespread conservation programs in southern Africa to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, the WILD Foundation has more than 25 years of international experience. WILD supports the protection and appropriate use of critical wilderness areas, wildland values and endangered wildlife, and it provides effective environmental education, advocacy and social programs that help sustain the irreplaceable values of wild nature.