Page 13 - AdNews April 2020

to do work which actually makes a difference in our lives,” he says of the Volvo Living Seawall campaign, citing it as his proudest pro- fessional achievement.
Launched in January 2018, the seawall is Volvo Car Australia’s joint ocean conservation project in Sydney Harbour with Reef Design Lab and North Sydney Council, using 50 special tiles to encourage and support native marine biodiversity.
The 55cm x 55cm tiles are constructed from concrete to mimic the root structure of the native mango tree, with tiny alcoves etched into the tile to give fish, filter-feeding organisms and other species a place to live as they would in a natural habitat. Species such as mussels are important filter feeders that can help improve water quality by filtering out particulate matter or contaminants.
“There are 55 species now living on the tiles now, and the tiles will be there, helping to clean our harbour, for decades,” says TinTin.
Another highlight has been the creation of the Ele-Tee, “a super cute T-shirt with one short arm and one long one that looks like an elephant’s trunk”. Profits from sales of them go towards the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s work protecting habitats and elephants.
It follows on from whiteGREY’S Hello in Elephant campaign, a highly successful 2017 initiative with the Trust, one of Africa’s oldest wildlife charities and a leading conservation organisation. Hello in Elephant saw the launch of a website using voice recognition technol- ogy, as well as input for text and emoji, to translate messages into the Elephant language, so the endangered species’ voice could be shared and heard around the world.
Despite juggling two high-pressure careers, TinTin says he won’t allow stress to get a foothold in his life or work.
Left: TinTin’s colleague,
Jol Temple and his wife, Kate. Above: An illustration from his next book (top) and other book covers.
“I can’t get stressed as it affects my health,” he says. “I try to take a positive approach, no matter what.
“Chad, our national ECD, and I have this motto: ‘Happy Monday’. If you’re not happy coming in to work after the weekend, if you feel a pit in your stomach on a Sunday afternoon and dread turning up to work, then something’s wrong and we need to fix it. My style of working is a reflection of my bosses — we’re open, have zero egos and are keen for a chat with anyone, anytime.”
FOOTNOTE: Despite obvious parallels to be drawn with the legendary Adventures of Tintin, about a boy reporter created by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi under the pen name Hergé, it is not the source of TinTin’s familiar monicker. “In India, every- one has a nickname. TinTin is mine — it means ‘three three’ in Hindi. My brother’s nickname translates to ‘two two’ so it was a logical thing I should be called TinTin.”
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